Harness E-mail: Web-based E-Mail: Page 2

FIND IT FAST Learn the Net The Web HOW TO Use the Site Master the Basics Surf the Web Harness E-mail Find Information Download Files Socialize Conference Music, Video & Photos Web Publishing Do E-Business Find the Right Job Protect Yourself ONLINE SHOPPING How It Works Top Ten Tips Discount Coupons RESOURCES Animated Internet Glossary Free Weekly Newsletter COMPANY INFO About Us Partner Programs Write Us Privacy Policy

Many websites now offer free Web-based e-mail, so how do you decide which one to go with? Think about this: We expect the postal service to deliver our letters reliably every day and we trust it to keep our communications private. As you come to depend more on e-mail for business and personal communications, having a reliable, trustworthy service becomes critical. You will have to evaluate each service based on its track record. A few services stand out for their longevity, reliability and friendliness. Our top recommendations are:   gMail, from the folks at Google.   Hotmail, from Microsoft.     Mail.com, which offers a choice of addresses, such as europe.com and doctor.com.   Yahoo! Mail, from the popular portal. Check Messages Anywhere A useful feature of Web-based e-mail is that you can use it to check your other e-mail accounts. (This works for mail servers that use the POP3 protocol.) To do this, you'll need the following information: The name of your mail server Your account name Your password One way to get this information is to check the settings in your desktop e-mail program. For instance, with Outlook Express, click on Tools on the Menu bar, then Accounts, and then click on the Mail tab. Now highlight the account name by clicking on it once, and then click on the Properties button. Finally, click on the Servers tab to see the mail server and account names. If this sounds too complicated, contact the technical support folks at your Internet Service Provider. Armed with this information, here's how to configure Hotmail: Click on Options on the toolbar. Under Additional Options, click on POP Mail. Enter the account information for up to four accounts. If you want to leave your messages on your primary mail server so you can download them later on your PC, check the appropriate box. Configure Yahoo! Mail like this: Click on Options in the left-hand box. Under Mail Management, click on Check Other (POP) Mail. Click on the Add Mail Server button. Enter the account information for up to two accounts. If you want to leave your messages on your primary mail server so you can download them later on your PC, check the appropriate box. Preserve Your Privacy When you use a computer other than yours to check your e-mail, log off the service when you're done. For extra security, close the web browser too. Once you've configured your account, you can stay connected from anywhere. Back Last update: Jan 4, 2008 Related Articles: How E-Mail Works Anatomy of an E-Mail Message Explore More: Search the Web Learn the Net (www.learnthenet.com) is Copyright 1996-2008. Michael Lerner Productions. All Rights Reserved.