Hi all, I do not usually come in here (not much of a drinker, you see) - I hang around with the whistlers. I wondered though if anyone here has an opinion…
I am trying to sort out email services for my wife and I. We are getting bored with the web interfaces to mailboxes offering us ‘targeted’ flashing adverts. I guess this is because we are tight and do not want to pay a fee.
Has anyone here suggestions for who to use for minimal cost?
I though about using our ISP, but that makes it more difficult to switch at renewal time.
I get website hosting from SourceForge, but no email server.
Email uses two different protocols; one for incoming mail (usually pop3) and another for outgoing. You don’t have to get them in the same place. Only the incoming mail is tied to any particular domain (whatever’s after the @). With any standalone email program, the ‘from’ field on outgoing mail is whatever you tell it to be. If you use your ISP’s smtp server for outgoing messages, you can find a stable org with a domain you don’t mind and a pop3 server. Or, you can register your own domain (it can be really cheap), and set its IP address to your ISP’s pop3 server. If you own the domain, it’s portable. You can point it anywhere and take it with you when you go.
Thank you Simon, I think you are telling me exactly what I need to know, but I cannot quite ‘get it’ yet.
I have installed an eMail client (mozilla), and set it to pull my emails from my existing email accounts.
I understand the concept of using my ISP for outgoing mail. I can look up the details and cope with that.
The last bit.
I understand the benefits, it is just that bit in the middle - ‘register a domain, then set its IP address to that of my ISP’s pop3 server’.
Can you point me somewhere to register a domain? Never done that or even though about it. I will think about setting the IP address to my ISP’s pop3 server once I have a domain.
You ave already saved me lots of reading/understanding so thanks a huge amount already.
You might also find it easier to have website hosting there, to more easily control your email options. Here’s a FAQ which might at least assist in educating you as to some of your possibilities, whichever domain registrar and/or web host you may choose.
It is possible to register a domain, then point to a website hosted at another provider. Calls to that website are interpreted by a DNS (Domain Name Server) lookup by name, and route to the IP address where your site is hosted. Here is an explanation of how DNS look-up works, using SQUIRRELS (see the section marked “* * *”).
I, for instance, have a plan for space and bandwidth that allows me to host multiple domains independently within my account, each with their own storage and bandwidth quotas/limits, and email exchanges (POP3, SMTP, FTP, etc.). Generally, email traffic does not count against your quotas. Many hosting sites will also allow you to view your email through a browser (not just an email program such as Mozilla Thunderbird), for remote access via library computers, cyber-cafes, etc.
Briefly, the address of any computer on the internet is an IP number. So you don’t have to memorize lots of numbers, these can be associated to alphanumeric names. A name (domain) can only be associated to one IP address, although many domains can be at the same IP, usually in different folders or behind routers. A great big database keeps track of the names and numbers. When you own a domain, what you own is the right to say what IP you wanna point it at. When you type a url into a browser, or click a link, it fires off a message to the database (Domain Name Server, aka DNS) and that translates the name into the correct IP number. Your browser uses this to route a message to the right server, asking for whatever you want.
Once you have a domain, talk to your ISP about registering it as an alias for their pop3 server. They’ll tell you what and how.
FWIW, I’d say never take a combined registration and hosting package because some registrar/hosts get actively obstructive when you want to extricate your domain and point it elsewhere later even though you have every right to do so.
It is possible to register a domain, then point to a website hosted at another provider.
Always the better way IMHO (and long past bitter experience).
I have my own domain, website & multiple emails with 1&1, same as kkrell - I understand the precaution about pointing it elsewhere, but prefer to have everything in one place. I use Mozilla Thunderbird to send & receive mails, and it all works brilliantly. Not very expensive either, and there’s a good webmail service.
Hey, thanks everyone - I have it up and running! The thought that there were patient and friendly folk out there to nudge me in the right direction made it a lot less daunting. I even learnt some stuff this afternoon.
I used a different domain registering company - slightly more expensive, but then I guess I jumped the gun a bit. £10 for two years is not going to kill me though (Am I stuck with this company forever, or can I use another to reregister when the two years is up?). I have redirected the domain to my SourceForge website, and the default email to my ISP. I am using Mozilla Thunderbird as an email client. Sorted. Now to slowly change my assorted email addresses to the new domain.
You can transfer domains between registrars, but it’s much less likely that you’ll feel compelled to do so. (I’ve currently got six domains spread between three different registrars and see no particular need to ‘tidy’ things up.)
Is that significantly different from what I have done? I have created email aliases on my new domain to point to my email address at my ISP. That routes incoming mail to me just dandy.
Sound policy - if it aint broke… problem is ‘broke’ is not always immediately obvious. Still, I have advert-free email, and a level of indirection to my email that gives me some control. As we used to say All problems in computing can be solved by adding extra levels of indirection’
I have only ever found one exception to this rule.