L2 Electronic Communication

Question 1

What does asynchronous and synchronous mean?

Answer 1

Synchronous means happening at the same time. Asynchronous is the opposite—not happening at the same time.

Question 2

What is CC in emails?

Answer 2

Carbon copy - send a copy of the email to others without making them the main recipient

Question 3

What are the 3 protocols for sending, receiving and managing emails?

Answer 3

One for sending emails - SMTP
Two for receiving emails - POP3 & IMAP

Question 4

What is BCC in emails?

Answer 4

Blind carbon copy - sends a copy of the email to recipients without others knowing who they are

Question 5

What is SMTP?

Answer 5

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
- Used to send emails from an email client via the email server

Question 6

What is POP3? and its advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 6

Post Office Protocol v3
Emails downloaded from the server to the email client and then are deleted from the server
Advantages:
- No internet connection needed to read downloaded messages
Disadvantages:
- If messages are deleted in the email client, then they are lost forever
- Difficult to access your email from different devices

Question 7

What is IMAP?

Answer 7

Internet Message Access Protocol
Downloads a copy of emails to the email client and keeps emails on the server
- Emails can only be read when online, although most email clients can store a copy for offline access
- Provides other helpful features such as folders
- Designed to allow users to access their email from multiple devices

Question 8

Why is emails not a very secure means of communication?

Answer 8

• Can be read in transit
• Can be read by the mail server administrator or stolen from the mail server
  Email in employment
• Generally, employers reserve the right to read your emails on the company’s email system

Question 9

What are ways to make emails more secure?

Answer 9

• Use email encryption tools such as PGP(Pretty Good Privacy)
  (Some email clients have encryption functionality)
• Keep your account detail secure and use 2FA(2 factor authentication)

Question 10

What’s a forum?

Answer 10

Forums are an online discussion group about a particular topic (a form of asynchronous communication)

Question 11

Activity: What protocol should I choose on my email client if I want to access my emails using multiple devices?

Answer 11

IMAP

Question 12

Acitivity: What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous communications?

Answer 12

Synchronous is real time and immediate. Asynchronous offers flexibility to respond when convenient.

Question 13

Activity: On a forum, what is a reply to a topic or thread called?

Answer 13

Post

Question 14

Activity: What is the domain name in this email address?

customer.help@pizza.co.nz

Answer 14

pizza

Question 15

What is DNS?

Answer 15

Domain Name System
A protocol that allows people to navigate the world wide web
- Translates domain names to Internet Protocol addresses
- Organises and maps domains on the web to physical servers
(Eg. nytimes.com or espn.com)
- Phonebook of the internet
- Could be a device (hardware) or a program (software)