At Least One of Them Should Be a Webmail Account
We have been fortunate to have worked with many people helping them with their computers – whether it be a quick checkup, optimization and cleanup, computer repairs, both simple and complex, or helping them remove malicious browser extensions and malware. Over the last few months, we’ve noticed that a substantial number of people still rely solely on the email account provided by their Internet Service Provider (ISP). Those of you who use email addresses that end in @att.net, @charter.net, @cox.net, @twc.com, @rr.com, @comcast.net, @bellsouth.net, etc. are using ISP email addresses.
EVERYONE should have at least one alternate email address
Email has become an essential part of our lives, and having a single email account is no longer enough. There are many reasons why everyone should have more than one email account, with one of them being a webmail account.
A webmail account is an email account that you access through a web browser, such as Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook.com, et. al. Most webmail accounts are free. We’re here to tell you that having at least one webmail account is essential.
One of the most significant advantages of a webmail account is that you can access it from any device with an internet connection. This means that you can check your emails on your desktop, all-in-one, laptop, smartphone, or tablet, making it easy to stay connected while on the go.
Another reason why having a webmail account is important is that it offers more storage space. With a webmail account, you can store your emails in the cloud, freeing up space on your device. This can be especially helpful if you have multiple devices and want to access your emails from all of them.
Webmail accounts come with more features than traditional email accounts. For example, Gmail provides superior and accurate spam filtering. You’ll find that most webmail providers offer features such as advanced spam filtering, automatic sorting, and integration with other applications, making it easier to manage your emails.
Webmail allows you to control your email, rather than allowing your ISP to delete and censor email based on whatever criteria they decide to use to filter junk mail and to censor/delete mail based on rules only they know. Once an ISP decides to block or censor an email you lose control. With a webmail account, some emails may go into your spam folder, but you can move email from the spam folder to the inbox by marking it as “not spam” or “not junk” and you – not your ISP – control your email. Unlike ISP email services with arcane censorship and incomprehensible mail blocking, webmail does not block or delete emails based on arcane rules.
And the most important reason is that webmail frees you from your ISP. If you’re using, let’s say, Comcast (Xfinity) all your mail depends on you using Comcast as your ISP. If you want to switch ISPs, you cannot take your Comcast (or other ISP) email address with you. But with a webmail account, you have access to your email and all you need is an internet connection; you’re not bound to your ISP with the “email tether”. And if you get a new computer and you have a webmail account, your email comes with you to your new computer, new smartphone, or new tablet.
And even if you plan to stick with your ISP forever, having more than one email account is essential. And at least one of those should be a webmail account. Whether you choose Gmail, Outlook.com/Hotmail, or Yahoo for your free webmail account(s) is up to you.
If you have just one ISP email account, we hope you’ll take our advice, sign up for a webmail account and start using it. Webmail accounts have many excellent features:
They free you from your ISP.
They allow you to get your email from any Windows device, Apple device, Android device, or Linux device including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
You can get a free Gmail account here.
You can get a free Outlook.com/Hotmail.com account here.
You can get a free Yahoo.com account here.
It would only be fair to check out and to review a few of the “non-top-three” email browsers now that you’ve given Gmail, MS and Yahoo first billing. There are some excellent alternatives available that are free but from independent providers.
We did not intentionally give them”first billing”. They just happen to be the 3 most common Webmail providers – of course there are others but we don’t use any others. The point of the article was to remind people how important it is that they have more than one email account and that one of them be a webmail account – one of the three we suggested or any other reliable Webmail service. I use Gmail, Hotmail/Outlook.com. They work fine for me. I use Yahoo too, but mostly for testing.
As far as browsers go… There are literally hundreds of browsers. I have tested maybe 10 or 12. I use Firefox as my default, and use Chrome, Edge, and Brave occasionally. We have reviewed several others including Arc and Vivaldi. We have also written about the so-called “privacy browsers” like the DuckDuckGo browser and the Epic privacy browser.. I am not an expert on every avialable browser and it would be impossible to be an expert on every one of the dozens available.
I use Mozilla Firefox as my default, because I like it. But I still use Chrome and Edge too. And sometimes I’ll fire up Brave and Opera. Almost all browsers are free; I’d be hard-pressed to name one that wasn’t. We have often said browsers are like cars – drive what you like.