the SCOUT

.bmp >> Windows OS/2 Bitmap Graphics

.exe >> Windows Self-Extracting Archive, an extension commonly associated with viruses, and one that Next Year’s News is unable to open

.pcp >> PC Paint (DOS) Bitmap Image

.ps >> Postscript file, a printer-language format not readable by humans

.rtf >> Rich Text Format,

.vcf >> Vcard File

.wav >> Windows Wave sound file

.abc = Always Be Careful...
with these:
The following are the most common file names associated with bugs and viruses. Before you open one, make sure you know who sent it to you -- and why! Also beware of files with double extensions.

.bat >> Batch file

.chm >> Compiled HTML

.com >> Command in DOS, not to be confused with the URL suffix

.dll >> Dynamic Library Link

.hta >> Hypertext Application

.pif >> Program information file

.scr >> Windows Screen Saver file

.shs >> Shell Scrap Object file

.vbs >> Visual Basic Script file

E-mail allows us nearly instantaneous communication with people across the globe. In addition to the text messages we write in the body of our e-mails, we also can share data in the form of e-mail attachments. But while e-mailing attachments is a convenient method of data transfer, it has its limitations (about two megabytes, to be exact … but more on that in a moment).

E-mail attachments are files sent along with a text-based e-mail message. An attachment can be any kind of file at all, including formatted word-processed documents, spreadsheets, databases, graphics, and even software.

The incredibly rapid rate of data transfer we’ve come to expect from e-mail is achieved by breaking down the data in each message into smaller pieces of data called “packets.” These packets do not transmit together as a message. Each packet finds its way independently, by what is literally “the path of least resistance” through a worldwide network of routers, to arrive at their destination server address. The e-mail you send to colleagues in an adjoining office could travel halfway around the world before arriving at their desktops!

Attachments are transmitted by this same method. Every packet of data carries the address (or, IP number) of the sender and the recipient, allowing your e-mail software to reassemble the packets into the same form in which they were sent.

What this packet-based transfer method gains in speed, it sacrifices in capacity.This process of breaking down and reassembling packets of information is poorly suited to “push” large amounts of data, for two reasons:
Integrity — the more broken-down a file must be to transfer, the more likely it is to be corrupted when re-assembled.

Efficiency — the more packets an e-mail server has to process, the slower it performs. Efficiency can become a particular problem when several large data files hit a server simultaneously.

For these reasons, files larger than two megabytes should not be sent via e-mail. Fortunately, there is an alternative to e-mailing large data files: an FTP client, or File Transfer Protocol application. There are a number of ways of accommodating FTP transfer between two points; in the next edition of The Scout, we’ll provide details on the methods most commonly used today.