Web-based or ‘webmail’ options
Most email requires you to use email software. This requires you or your organisation’s IT person to get it working on your office PC.
There is an alternative. You can use web-based email or ‘webmail’ which makes it easy to access your email via the web from anywhere in the world.
Rather than downloading mail to your PC, a webmail service allows you to access your inbox from any internet-connected computer without needing to make adjustments to the settings on the computer you are using. Emails are accessed online rather than held on a specific PC.
Benefits of webmail
- Mobility – you can log on at any internet connection anywhere in the world. Particularly useful if you move around a lot in your work.
- Most webmail services allow you to access your office email through the webmail account (check out the settings of the account to do this).
- The basic service is usually free.
Downsides of webmail
- Limited functionality, e.g. sending emails to more than a couple of people is harder; sorting is more cumbersome.
- They are often slower because everything you do has to go back through a remote server. If you are on a slow dialup connection this can be quite a pain.
- Less storage for a large number of emails. Usually you will have to clean out your inbox even more regularly especially if your emails contain attachments. However, you can usually pay to get more storage.
Tip
Get a webmail address for purchases etc
One of the most common ways for spammers to obtain your email address is to either scan the internet for them or to purchase lists of email addresses from companies with shoddy privacy policies to whom you might have inadvertently provided your email address. To get around this you can get a webmail address to provide for online subscriptions, purchases, mailing lists, or any other online forms where you are asked to provide your email address on the internet. Avoid providing your email program based email address (e.g. through Outlook) over the internet.
Silvia Bethencourt, communityNet
Options for webmail
- A free online webmail account such as MSN Hotmail
, YahooMail, Gmail(see survey of different free webmails) - Your organisation’s internet service provider (ISP) may have a webmail service that you can use. It will be slower than your usual email, with fewer features, but you can access it anywhere. The big ISPs offer this service.
- Where your organisation has its own domain name such as ‘yourorganisation.org.au’ your ISP may be able to set up a special webmail service for your organisation. To access your email out of the office you will normally be directed to a website called webmail.youroranisation.org.au.