Australian writer Helen Garner won the prestigious Windham-Campbell literary prize which includes a $150,000 payout. Fortunately for her, she checks her spam email box because the news was not delivered to her proper inbox. The email from the Yale University employee which asked for her phone number to reveal some "good news" landed in the junk folder.

Facebook is test driving a new program for publishers which allows them to add newsletter sign-up buttons at the bottom of their articles. The New York Times and The Washington Post are included among those publishers participating in the program. The idea is to help publishers connect with readers on a deeper level.

The new Email Privacy Act, a proposed reform to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, will get a new markup this month. Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has promised that the bi-partisan bill would get its next round of attention in March. "Over the past several years the Committee has conducted robust oversight of this decades-old law and has worked with stakeholders to identify reform priorities. It's clear that the law needs to be modernized and updated to ensure it keeps pace with ever-changing technologies so that we protect Americans' constitutional rights," Goodlatte said in a statement.

The State of Wisconsin has agreed to release more than 4,000 emails related to the Steven Avery murder case, which has become a household name thanks to the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer. The emails could contain new information that would influence the case. The information come just as Chicago-based lawyer Kathleen Zellner gets ready for a new appeal case in the coming weeks.

University students aren't ignoring email just because they like social media and texting, according to a new report. However, the report from Bowling Green State University found that while students do check their inboxes, they don't actually read every email they get. This means that organizations looking to reach this audience should consider all options.

TurboTax and other tax software companies have told customers that they would be sending out email alerts this year in order to fight spammers. The company revealed that it has seen an uptick in phishing scams claiming to come from its brand this year. These malicious emails try to trick consumers into sharing their personal details. TurboTax aims to educate consumers about these emails to help them avoid falling for these scams.

Tech startup Paribus aims to save users money by scanning their email accounts for receipts. The technology pairs the emailed receipts with product listings and looks for price drops, coupons and adjustments. If the tool determines that the consumer deserves money back, the company will file for a price adjustment claim on their behalf. Paribus will take a 25 percent cut for the legwork.

A new mobile app called Dittach allows users to search their email inboxes for attachments. The tool connects with the user's email service to access this data and then presents it in a chronological feed.

The California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA), a new law which went into effect on January 1, requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before accessing data from a citizen's email, phone or digital device. However, the law is raising controversy over a new waiver called the "fourth waiver." Essentially law enforcement officials have been requiring people on probation and parole to sign a waiver that bypasses this new law and allows police to search all devices of these former inmates.

A Snapchat employee was duped by a spam email which led to a data breach. The worker got an email soliciting payroll information which claimed to come from Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. The employee responded and as a result the personal data of several employees was revealed.