E-mail Account Questions and Answers

E-Mail accounts and the most commonly asked questions.

What is Email and how can I benefit from it?

If 'e-mail' is loosely defined as 'messages transmitted electronically', then the first 'e-mail messages' would have started in the last century with telegraph messages (by wire) and Morse Code transmissions (via airways). E-mail has progressed and evolved since the first electronic messages were sent over 100 years ago. Today e-mail has become the fastest way to communicate with people any where in the world. In fact, in the year 2002 it is estimated that over 20 billion person to person e-mails were sent daily. E-mail has made it easier than ever for your employees to communicate saving billions of dollars a year in time and business expenses.

How do I get E-mail?

A person can get an e-mail account several different ways. Most home users have their e-mail accounts set up through their Internet Service Provider (i.e. AOL, EarthLink, MSN, Yahoo, etc.). The Internet Service Providers will usually give allow a user to visit a secure web page and log in to send and receive e-mail. There are several limitations to these types of accounts. Here are some of the major drawbacks to these accounts:

1. If you change Internet Service Providers you will usually lose your e-mail address, address book and any e-mails you have stored with them.

2. They will not allow you to have an e-mail address with your domain name attached (i.e. you@yourdomainname.com) but instead are required to use an e-mail address that advertises their services each time you send out an e-mail.

3. You have to access your e-mail through a web browser limiting you to the features that they have versus using many popular software programs such as Outlook to organize your information.

4. You are limited as to the amount of e-mail you can store and will have to pay extra for additional space for. These constraints limit the size of pictures or files you may need to send to someone else's e-mail.

Another option for e-mail is having e-mail through your hosting company or an e-mail service provider. Hosting accounts will usually allow you to have a certain number of e-mail addresses associated with your account. A benefit of having e-mail through your hosting provider is that you can have your e-mail listed with your domain name in it versus having your Internet Service Provider's extension on it. For instance if your domain name is www.bobsfishing.com you could have an e-mail address like this: sales@bobsfishing.com. This makes your business appear more professional and organized to the person you are corresponding to. Hosting companies usually have larger limits on the accounts so you can send and receive larger e-mails.

A third option would be hosting your own e-mail on your business servers. This is done with software available for Windows based servers called Microsoft Exchange. With Exchange, you would have your e-mail pointed at your business server. This allows you the flexibility of being able to have your computer service company administer your e-mail. It also allows you more control over e-mail security and settings. With Microsoft exchange you can also set up groups in the event that you wanted to have department wide e-mails.

What are the downfalls of E-mail?

While e-mail is the fastest form of communication worldwide, there are certain things that you should always be aware of and protect yourself from. The two major problems spread through e-mail are viruses and spam. A computer virus can be spread through e-mail from user to user. There are virus protection programs that protect users from getting these viruses. Unfortunately, many computer users do not see the need to protect themselves from computer viruses till it is too late. Many computer viruses will infect an unprotected computer and then send itself out to all the e-mail addresses it finds on that computer. On a corporate level, businesses using Exchange can protect themselves with Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition. It scans all e-mail before it is sent to the user. If a virus is found it deletes the virus from the user's e-mail.

Spam is becoming a growing problem with e-mail. It is estimated that as of June 2003 there will be more spam e-mails sent out than legitimate e-mail. Spam is unsolicited advertisements sent to people through their e-mail. Many Internet Service Providers, hosting companies and software companies have options for assisting with the spam problem.

Summary

A conversation about e-mail always brings up questions. There are a lot of choices when it comes down to what is best for you and your business. CyberAnnex can help take the stress out of the e-mail decision for you or your business. If you have any question, please feel free to call us at (949) 646-2222.

Other Areas We Service Include:

Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, Ventura County.