If you use Microsoft Outlook (or similar applications) for e-mailing, then you are familiar with the fields at the top of a new mail message, right? Of course, in the "To..." field, you enter the name of one or more persons you intend to receive your message. Use the field labeled "Cc..." (for Carbon Copy - remember how they did it back in 1978 BC, "before computers"?) for anyone who needs to view your e-mail but is not the addressee.

But there's an additional field that you should know about, labeled "Bcc...," which stands for "Blind carbon copy," or the updated version, "Blind courtesy copy." This field is for the names of anyone that needs a copy of your e-mail without the other people (in the "To..." and "Cc..." fields) knowing about it. That's why it's called "Blind."

"But wait a minute," you might be saying. "I don't have a "Bcc" field just after the "Cc" field in my version of Outlook." When you launch a new mail message, you might have "To...," "Cc...," and "Subject..."--nothing more. That's because "Bcc" is on a toggle; you can turn it on and off from your "View" menu. If your "Bcc..." is not showing, you can turn it on when you are in a mail message by going to the "View Menu" and selecting "Bcc Field." A checkmark will appear and the field will become visible at the top of your mail message, just above "Subject...". (Similar applications should also give you the option to turn "Bcc" on if it is not continuously visible.)

You should know about and carefully use "Bcc" for a number of reasons. I'm going to cover some of the most important.

Use Bcc to protect privacy