It's easier than ever to snoop on e-mail -- and even on "confidential" digital transactions. What you say or do online can bite you.

All kinds of misbehaviors are more likely to be exposed today than in less watchful times. So sometimes it's better for businesses to come clean about dirty laundry before it becomes public, says a communications authority, Dale L. Klamfoth of Communispond Inc.

Eliot Spitzer resigned recently as New York's governor after his digital money transfers led to a call girl scandal. Using a preemptive confession, his successor, David Paterson, announced soon after his inauguration that he had cheated on his wife and had used drugs when he was younger. The news died down almost instantly.

"Exposes about a company or person's ethical breaches always get more exposure than the defense," says Klamfoth, who is vice president and general manager of Communispond. "The effort to defend may be called 'damage control' or 'crisis management' but often it's more like holding a tiger by the tail."

Bad news travels faster than ever because bloggers pounce on mere hints of misdeeds, according to Klamfoth. Social networks spread the news further, especially if there's video footage, he adds.

"People come down hardest on companies or individuals outed for bad behavior if they've been projecting an aura of integrity," Klamfoth says. Former Governor Spitzer was an anti-corruption crusader.

A number of fallen evangelists had this experience. "Companies that project a green image would be most criticized if charged with flouting environmental regulations," Klamfoth says.

Reality television's culture of confession has made the public more tolerant of admissions of guilt, according to Klamfoth.

"Employees are sending e-mail messages about creating funny numbers and flouting other regulatory rules. Company managements, often less savvy about digital footprints than their younger employees are, can be unaware of their companies' vulnerability," he says.

Klamfoth's advice on how to announce bad news: Do it quickly and fully. Express sympathy for those affected. Describe the corrective action taken or planned. Avoid weaseling:

Don't say "Mistakes were made." Say "We made mistakes." If people were offended, don't say "If any offense was taken ... ." Instead, acknowledge that people were offended and apologize to them.