Advantages and disadvantages of using email

Advantages

• Emails are delivered extremely fast when compared to traditional post.
• Emails can be sent 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Webmail means emails can be sent and received from any computer, anywhere in the world, that has an Internet connectionInternet connection: a computer's or another internet-enabled device's connection to the Internet.
• Cheap - when using broadbandbroadband: high speed Internet access, each email sent is effectively free. Dial-updial-up: a method of connecting to the Internet that involves 'dialling up' as if making a phone call users are charged at local call rates but it only takes a few seconds (for conventional email, eg text only) to send an email.
• Emails can be sent to one person or several people.

Disadvantages

• The recipient needs access to the Internet to receive email.
• Virusesvirus: a small program written to cause harm to a computer are easily spread via email attachmentsattachment: a file that's 'attached' to an email is called an attachment (most email providers scan emails for viruses on your behalf).
• Phishing - sending an email to a user falsely claiming to be a legitimate company to scam the user into providing information, such as personal information and bank account numbers on a bogus websitewebsite: a web page or group of web pages hosted on one web server and viewed in a web browser. The details will then be used for identity theftidentity theft: when the identity of an individual is assumed by someone else in order to profit, financially or otherwise.
• No guarantee the mail will be read until the user logs on and checks their email.
• Spam - unsolicited email, ie junk mail.