E-Cards Spread Holiday Cheer, Viruses

Online greeting cards are all the rage this holiday season. They're mostly free, and can feature funny, interactive subjects ranging from elf tossing to reindeer arm wrestling. E-cards are also delivered instantly, an advantage for the forgetful around Christmas. But traditional cards are still the preferred way to spread holiday cheer, with 20 paper cards sent out for every e-card, claims the Greeting Card Association.

"When it matters, it's mailed. You don't put an e-mail on your refrigerator," says one postal worker. Paper cards also cannot be used for spam or spyware, which can be hidden in electronic greetings. Experts—and common sense—say beware of e-cards that are too generic sounding or contain the sorts of misspellings common to the vast amounts of non-holiday spam on the Net. (More Christmas stories.)