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Once e-mail becomes an essential part of your life, you will want to check
it often. With a Web-based e-mail account, you can do it from any computer
connected to the Net, anywhere on earth. There's no need to lug around a
laptop when you're traveling, because you can access your e-mail
from a computer at a friend's house, a hotel business center or at one of
the thousands of cybercafés that have sprung up around the world. (Coffee
and e-mail make a potent brew.)
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TRY THIS...
For a list of addresses around the world, visit Cybercafés.com.
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Another benefit of Web-based e-mail is that you can keep the same address for life. Once you have an account, even if you change your company or switch Internet service providers, the address remains yours.
How It Works
With client-based e-mail, like Outlook or Thunderbird, a software program running on your computer accesses a remote mail server. With Web-based e-mail, to send and receive messages, you access a website, so all you need is Internet access and a web browser. To access your e-mail you log on to your account by entering your user ID and password.
Now you can read and reply to messages. Most services offer online address books to store e-mail addresses and contact information. You can also set up folders
to manage your messages.
One thing to keep in mind is that free Web-based e-mail services
limit the amount of storage that they provide. For instance, Yahoo! Mail
has a 5 GB limit. This may sound like a lot, but if you receive loads of mail with large
attachments like photos, music and video clips, you will have to delete or download them to your computer periodically to
stay below the limit. Another option is to pay for additional storage.
Setting Up an Account
Establishing a new e-mail account takes only a few minutes and couldn't be easier. You'll have to provide information about yourself and choose an account name and password. Your account name or ID becomes part of your e-mail address. If you open a Hotmail account and choose "wiseguy" as your ID, your address becomes "wiseguy@hotmail.com." Account names can use letters and numbers, such as "professor2000," can't contain any spaces, and are limited in length, depending on the service.
Account Names
The more popular Web-based e-mail services have millions of members, so most common account names are already taken. If you want to use your own name, try incorporating underscores ( _ ) into the address, like this: jane_r_franklin. If you're lucky, no one else will have it.
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Passwords
Since e-mail may contain sensitive information, it's important to have a secure account that only you can access. Choose you password carefully.
Passwords are usually case sensitive, meaning that they use both upper and lower case letters. If your password is "mOmbO," then entering "MOmbo" won't work. The most secure passwords contain both letters, symbols and numbers, like this: @nimAls8. Changing your password every few months is a good idea, too. For more help read our Password article.
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Copyright 1996-2008.
Michael Lerner Productions.
All Rights Reserved.
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