E-mail users should keep e-mails short, free from attachments
unless they are crucial, and should limit the use of large
distribution lists, according to a new guide advising employees on
how e-mail should be used in the workplace.
The guide, to be released next week, has been put together by Web
and e-mail filtering specialist Surfcontrol. The firm identified
the need for an informal best-practice pamphlet to complement more
formal controls such as anti-virus and filtering software.
"E-mail is a can of worms for most companies," said Steve Purdham,
chief executive at Surfcontrol. "Not only is it the route through
which many viruses arrive, unfettered use of e-mail also poses a
threat to productivity and network performance."
Consultant and former IT controller at Blue Circle Roger Ellis
said, "If we don't [control it] e-mail will cease to be as useful
as it is because we won't be able to separate the wheat from the
chaff. It will just sink us."
A recent Metagroup report found that 15 billion e-mails are sent
each day, and estimated that the number will rise to 35 billion by
2005.
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