HIPS Series > Safer Emailing and IMing > Quiz

The correct answers, and explanations for why we believe them to be correct, are provided here.

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1. Can email and instant messages (IM) be considered part of an organization's official documents, just like paper-based correspondence?

A. No. Only paper-based correspondence is official.

B. Yes, but only email is official. IM is not.

C. Yes, both email and IM may be considered official.

D. It depends on whether a disclaimer notice is attached to the message.

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2. Are email and IM messages generally as secure as paper-based correspondence like postal letters?

A. Yes. Such electronic messages are always more secure than paper correspondence.

B. No. Electronic messages are generally not as secure --email is often described as an electronic postcard.

C. It depends on whether encryption methods are being used.

D. B and C.

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3. What kinds of things generally shouldn't be included in email?

A. Material that could be considered libelous, obscene, defamatory, harassing, racist, sexist or otherwise offensive.

B. Material that is extremely confidential.

C. Attachments that have not been screened for malicious software.

D. All of these.

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4. Which of these will tend to make your email correspondents happier?

A. Sending short, to-the-point email messages.

B. Sending fewer email messages.

C. Paying attention to grammar, spelling and formatting in your messages.

D. All of these are good ideas.

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5. Which of these is a benefit of including a distinctive, meaningful SUBJECT for your messages?

A. It can help recipients find messages on a particular topic.

B. It can help recipients spot a spoof, spam or hoax message.

C. It is required by most email software before a message can be sent.

D. All of these.

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6. What is the benefit of including a "greeting" in each email message?

A. It's just polite, the same as in a paper message.

B. It can help recipients identify a spam, spoof or hoax message.

C. It's legally required.

D. All of these.

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7. What is the benefit of including a "signature" with your contact information on each email message?

A. It's a courtesy to your correspondents, in case they need to contact you by some medium other than email.

B. It identifies your official role in the organization, if you include your title along with the other contact information.

C. It can help recipients identify a spam, spoof or hoax message.

D. All of these are benefits.

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8. Everyone says you have to be careful about attachments (attached files) in email messages. Why?

A. Email attachments can contain malicious software (malware).

B. Email attachments can contain highly confidential information, some of it hidden from view.

C. Large email attachments can clog email systems and slow down communications.

D. It's a myth. Email attachments are not really dangerous.

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9. Which of these is the most dangerous way to fill in an email address in the TO, CC and BCC fields?

A. Typing in the address using only your own memory.

B. Replying to an earlier message.

C. Cutting and pasting.

D. Using the email systems's built-in address book.

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10. Which of these is/are true?

A. Priorities are sometimes ignored by recipients.

B. Delivery receipts do not guarantee that a message was actually delivered.

C. Read receipts do not guarantee that a message was actually read.

D. All of these are true.

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11. Which of these is/are generally true about a "recall" request?

A. It will delete all copies of a previously-sent message.

B. It will delete all copies of a previously-sent message that have not yet been read by the recipient(s).

C. It will delete all copies sent within your organization, but not those sent outside it.

D. It will send another message indicating that the sender wishes to recall the previous one.

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12. Which of these is/are true?

A. REPLY ALL should always be used to send a response to everyone who was a party to the original message.

B. REPLY should be used unless you believe everyone needs to see the response.

C. It is generally OK to FORWARD messages without checking with the original sender.

D. It is generally OK to FORWARD material that seems sensitive, because it was the original sender's responsibility to check it.

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13. Which of these is/are CORRECTLY defined?

A. Spam - Junk email, or, formally, unsolicited bulk commercial email.

B. Spoof - Email that doesn't come from the person who appears on the FROM line.

C. Hoax - Email that contains false information, such as an offer that's too good to be true.

D. Phish - Email that tries to get sensitive information by tricking you.

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14. Which of these is true about printing and saving email messages that contain sensitive information?

A. It's OK to print messages, but you have to protect the printed copies (and shred them when no longer needed).

B. It's OK to save messages on the computer, but you have to protect the computer.

C. It's OK to save messages on removable storage, but you have to protect that removable media (and securely dispose of it when no longer needed).

D. All of these are true.

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15. Which of these is/are true about deleting email messages?

A. Messages put in the "trash" are usually easily retrieved with an un-delete command until the trash is "emptied."

B. Even after the trash is emptied, messages are probably still out there on your hard drive somewhere and can be recovered.

C. Even if you get them off your hard drive entirely, they are probably stored on your correspondents' computers as well as the archives of various email server computers.

D. All of these are true.

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16. Which of these is/are true of confidentiality/non-disclosure notices?

A. They should always be included, because they provide clear legal protection.

B. They are a standard practice, but it is unclear how much legal protection they provide.

C. State laws generally require them.

D. Federal and state laws generally require them.

The correct answers, and explanations for why we believe them to be correct, are provided here.

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