PRE TEST ELECTRONIC MAIL PROCESS

The present invention provides a method and apparatus which operates completely in the background (i.e., transparent to the user) to verify the validity of an addressee's Internet e-mail address. The invention seeks to prevent the delivery of an e-mail message having an incorrect user name, server name, or a misspelling in either or both in the addressee's Internet e-mail address. If an error is detected, it is called to the sender's attention, where it may be corrected before the message is sent.