I know this, because I recently changed from my Pacbell account to a personal mailbox which I purchased from everyone.net. It took me over two months to notify everyone of change, and I'm sure I missed a few on way.

The free web based email accounts do not have that disadvantage (unless, of course, web based service folds or changes in some way), but their are good reasons not to use them for normal correspondence.

First of all, my own personal opinion that using Hotmail or one of other big, well-known email services is just plain, well, tacky. It strikes me like eating imitation crab meat or something - it just feels low-class. I know other people feel this way as well - how seriously do you take something received from a Hotmail address verses a more unique domain name? And I don't mean to pick on Hotmail - all of big, free, web-based email suffers from same perceptions.

This makes a well known, web-based email account very unsuitable for any kind of real business. People are so used to getting spam from these places that they will often delete message unread unless they absolutely know who source of message is. Excluding things like FFA submissions, these email accounts should never be used for legitimate business purposes.

Another major disadvantage is that you are at mercy of big company hosting email. They want to make money, naturally, and they must do something in exchange for giving you free email. Most of services simply post advertisements, although some also require you to view popup ads or receive occasional spam emails. (I refer to these as spam emails because they are undesired by virtually everyone and usually people treat them like spam - they just have to be received to get free service).

Personally, there are no conditions that I would use Hotmail in future due to their requirement that you sign up for a passport account. There are many security concerns with using Microsoft Passport (not least of which is that Microsoft's track record is abysmal as regards security and privacy) and additionally a real trepidation at giving a large corporation such control over my information.

So what would I recommend? There are many email services available at a very reasonable price which give you everything you could possibly want. Probably best and most reasonably priced service I have found is from everyone.net. You get 10 email accounts (whose names are completely under your control) for about $40 a year (100mb of storage) - and this even includes your own domain name! The service provides both POP and web-based email, and has an array of features which make it very useful. Additionally, since you are directly paying for service (and what better relationship is there in business than "customer directly pays vendor who provides service" business model), you don't have to view banners, you don't get popup ads and you don't need to receive spam emails.

And believe me, that's best reason of all to use a service such as everyone.net's paid email accounts - no stupid advertisements which I don't want, don't need and will never have a use for.

Before days of email scripting, creating a self-replicating virus was a large task requiring a very knowledgeable person. He would have to design and create a means whereby virus sent itself to other systems. Once email scripting was invented and became popular, virtually anyone with a few days or weeks of script training (or reading of manuals) could do same.

So if you use Outlook Express, you MUST install a very good virus checking program (such as Norton Antivirus) and you MUST keep definitions up-to-date. Unfortunately, email security patch for Outlook which disables email scripting does not apply to Outlook Express, so is of no help. (I am not sure if scripting problem applies to Outlook Express which ships with Internet Explorer 6 and above as I have not installed that program yet).

To sum it up quickly, Outlook Express is a reasonable email and newsgroup client. The best that can be said about it is product works and it's free. You are, however, exposing yourself to some risk if you use program, especially if you do not have a good antivirus program installed.

Additional Reading

Changing Location Of Outlook Stationary http://www.internet-tips.net/System/registry_outlookstationary.htm The location of Outlook and Outlook Express stationary files is contained in registry. You can modify this value.

Creating Stationery Using Outlook Express 5 Lesson #1 - Basics http://www.internet-tips.net/Email/outlookstationarycreate01.htm

Creating Stationery Using Outlook Express 5 Lesson #2 - Stationery Wizard http://www.internet-tips.net/Email/outlookstationarycreate02.htm

Email - The most critical application on web http://www.internet-tips.net/Email/Email.htm Email is most used and most important component on web. There are lots of options available to make your email experience better and more more fulfilling.

Outlook Stationery http://www.internet-tips.net/Email/outlookstationary.htm Both Outlook and Outlook Express support stationery files, which allow you to send very cool-looking email messages.

The Ultimate In Virus Protection http://www.internet-tips.net/Security/Virusprotection.htm Learn how to protect your computer and your hard work. Start with a backup plan, install antivirus software and subscribe to newsletters.

Viruses http://www.internet-tips.net/Security/Viruses.htm The most important thing you can do to protect your system is install a virus checker (also known as an anti-virus program). These programs will scan your system for viruses and Trojan horses and delete or repair them. There are several products including those by McAfee and Norton (Symantec).