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Email Basics
Email, or electronic mail, allows users to communicate nearly instantly around the world via the internet. It has quickly become one of the most common methods of communication due to its speed and low cost. It can send a message to one person or to many, and can be a simple note or can carry with it “attachments” such as photos, music or video files, or spreadsheets.
Email Addresses
Sending or receiving email requires an email address, and every email address has three parts: the username, the @ sign, and the domain.
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For example:
steven@mailmine.net
The “username” is steven and “mailmine.net” is the domain. The domain must always contain a “.” and an extension (com, net, us, org, etc). Most email providers automatically assign a domain and allow customers to select only their username. At MailMine.net, customers can select both their username and their domain to personalize their email to match their style or passion.
Email Access
Today there are two common methods of accessing email: webmail and email software.
- Webmail
Webmail allows access to your email from any internet connection with a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. Using their browser, a user visits the website providing the webmail access, and no software is required on the user’s PC. It is called webmail because it uses websites to provide email access. Users typically login to the webmail site by providing their email address and password. No email software program is required on the user’s computer because the website is running it on their server instead.
Webmail requires an open and active browser connection to operate. To access MailMine.net’s webmail, users can click “login” from our home page at www.MailMine.net or go directly to https://mail.mailmine.net.
- Email Software
Email software programs such as Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbid allow users to access their email without an opened browser and often provide more capability and customization than webmail access. These programs, called Email Clients, give the user the option of storing (downloading) their email messages onto their own computer rather than storing them at the website of the webmail provider. This allows the user to review previous messages without an active internet connection (although a connection is required to check for new messages or to send an email).
Also, these programs allow users with broadband connections to have 24/7 access to their latest emails and eliminate the need to visit their webmail website and login. Most email software is available at little or no cost. For example, Mozilla Thunderbird may be downloaded for free at www.mozilla.com. (And while you’re there, Mozilla’s excellent browser, Firefox, is also free) Email service from MailMine.net will work with any email software.
POP3, IMAP4 & SMTP
POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP are the standard email protocols that allow different email systems to communicate with each other.
- POP3
POP3 stands for “Post Office Protocol, version 3” and is the most popular protocol in use today. When a user checks their email using POP3, the new messages are downloaded from the email server to the user’s hard drive. Generally, the messages are then removed from the email server since they have been passed to the user’s computer. This conserves space on the server and may simplify the process of managing email for the user since messages are not stored in two places at once. Message storage space is limited only by the user’s hard drive. For users new to email software, this is the recommended solution.
Most of today’s email software like Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird can be configured to leave email messages on the server even after downloading to the user’s computer if the user desires. This can provide a great solution for users that want their messages on their own computer and also wish to have access to them via webmail.
- IMAP4
IMAP4 stands for “Internet Message Access Protocol, version 4”. With IMAP4, messages are not downloaded to the user’s computer but instead remain on the email server. When a user uses Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird with IMAP4, they are working directly with messages stored on the email server. Even the folders, such as the “Sent” and “Trash” folders, are files on the email server and are not on the users hard drive.
IMAP4 is a popular option for users that often access their email from more than one computer, such as a desktop and a laptop, and that want full access from either computer without the hassle of managing and remembering which computer’s hard drive contains which email message. The downside to IMAP4 is the storage space required on the server. For users that need to preserve email for years, or that send or receive many or large emails, a significant amount of storage may be required on the email server. Also, without an active internet connection, an IMAP4 user has no access to their email.
- SMTP
SMTP stands for “Simple Mail Transfer Protocol” and is the protocol that defines how messages are sent from an email server. Since spam has become a considerable problem on the internet, some service providers now require “SMTP Authentication”. This allows users to send email only if their mailbox belongs to the service provider’s network.
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