I have been using web based email and not Outlook or Outlook Express. Are there any advantages in using Outlook or Outlook Express over web based email? Any reasons to avoid Outlook or Outlook Express?
web-based mail, easy to access from anywhere, far less prone to address harvesting (meaning viruses getting all your addresses).
I use outlook express on multiple machines and just set it not to remove my mail from the server for a few days.
I like having my mail local and I just prefer using an app instead of having to read my mail on the web. I also like to be able to back up all my mail myself on an external drive.
If you want to be able to get to your mail from any computer webmail is good, other wise I like a decent client. I have a t-mobile sidekick for reading my mail when I am away from a PC.
pocomail http://www.pocomail.com/ has a cool tool that is a mail client that launches from a USB key, allowing you to just plug it in to a machine, launch your client to do your email, then just remove the key leaving no traces of your email behind. Worth checking out, I have heard good things.
Many viruses written nowadays target Outlook Express and the never-ending stream of vulnerabilities found in it. They also data mine their address books so they can send copies of themselves to all of your contacts. This is actually true for any email client that uses the windows address book. I use a program called The Bat! and it works great. Worth taking a peek at.
But using a email clients is still cool for several reasons:
- You can download your messages and keep room on your server for new mail. You can also archive them on your hard drive which should have ample space.
- You can have some pretty sophitcated folder/filtering schemes to help keep mail organized.
- You can use thrid party spam filters to make sorting through your mail a much more pleasant experience.
But on the downside:
- Unless you're on a laptop you can't access your mail if you're away from your computer (like on a trip). Or, if you use a web-based solution temporarily, you'll then download messages you've already read and then still have to sort through them later.
Depends on whether you're on a dial-up or broadband connection. If you're on dial-up, you'll have to connect every time you want to read your mail. But then accesibility for web mail... I leave it to your decision
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