Almost everyone has email these days but there are still quite a few people who are behind the times. These people are looking for fast, free, and secure email that they can use from any location. What they are looking for is webmail. Fast, free, and secure webmail is provided by hundreds of web services around the world and all you have to do obtain your own email address is signup for one. In this article, we will be looking at webmail and some of the more popular, free webmail services that are available.
What is Webmail
Webmail is simply email that is intended to be used through a browser rather than through a software that you download. Webmail, or web-based email, has both upsides and downsides. For instance, webmail can be used from any computer in the world that is connected to the Internet. However, you will not have access to your old email messages while offline. Most webmail services can be connected to an email client so that when you are offline, you will still be able to see old messages while new messages will appear in both your online webmail account as well as the email client when your computer is connected to the Internet.
Gmail
Gmail is probably the most used webmail service currently available. Gmail is fast and easy to setup and all you need to get one is come with a unique email address that hasn't already been taken. Gmail has a counter that shows how much storage space each email account is given as Google is constantly adding more servers to their network of storage devices. You can have as many Gmail accounts as you wish and each account comes with full access to all of Google's other free products.
Yahoo Mail
While Gmail is currently on top of the webmail food chain, Yahoo Mail has had its day in the sun. Yahoo Mail provides you with many of the same features of Gmail, the most significant being the fact that your Yahoo Mail account doubles as a Yahoo ID and allows you to use all of Yahoo's other free products and services. Yahoo Mail also introduces an extra level of security by allowing you to create a "Sign-In Seal" which is a picture that is displayed on all of your Yahoo Sign-In pages. The idea is that if the picture isn't there, then you shouldn't enter your password because it is likely a scamsite pretending to be Yahoo.
Hotmail
Hotmail is a free webmail service provided by Microsoft that used to be the biggest webmail service on the Internet. Hotmail keeps track of your MSN news, local weather, email, and Windows Live friends all in one spot that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Hotmail also allows you to combine separate email addresses into one interface and the whole thing is backed up by Microsoft's fierce security measures.
GMX
GMX claims to be "the free email you've been waiting for", which isn't far from the truth. GMX offers amazing features that even some of the more popular brands of webmail do not provide. GMX includes an all-in-one function that combines your email addresses into one interface, the ability to check your email from your cell phone, an advanced SSL encryption scheme that blocks spam and hackers, and 5 GB of storage space as well as a 50 MB limit on attachments and a sharing service that allows you to send files to other users through a "file storage exchange".
HushMail
HushMail provides a Business email system for $10 per month but they also offer a personal webmail account that is completely free. HushMail includes email encryption, spam/virus scanning, and the ability to check your email from your phone. HushMail has a serious downside compared to other webmail services, however, as their free accounts only provide 2 MB of storage space while other services offer several gigabytes. Hushmail's goal is to get people to pay $35 per year for their premium webmail service which offers over 10 GB.
Inbox.com
Inbox.com is a growing webmail company that offers email, news, games, screen savers, ecards, and photo sharing technology all in the same spot. Inbox.com offers 5 GB of storage space to US, UK, and Canadian citizens and 2 GB of storage space to all other nationalities, however, up to 30 GB of storage space can be purchased for a price. Inbox.com also allows you to keep track of your to-do lists and personal notes, change the layout of your account, and choose RSS feeds from a number of sources including news, history, and comics.
