Wanted: Email address that I can keep when I change ISP

[Chops]

Hi,

I'm after an email address that i can use for everything from personal emails to more important things such as financial info and internet shopping.

I've tried Gmail but couldn't get an email address that came anywhere close to my actual name, i also tried inbox but it sometimes gets treated as spam and never gets to it's intended destination. I also tried MSN but again i had trouble with spam.

What I really want is an email provider, ideally free but must be secure, that I can register with and take with me when I change ISP providers, i.e. an email address 'for life'.

I know it's asking a lot, especially for a free email address, but does anyone have any suggestions.

Thanks.

[Inactive]

I use Hotmail without any problems, have done for years.

[Rik]

It might be worth considering a domain of your own. That will give you control over the name, and a service you can keep regardless of who your ISP is. 1&1 charge about 69p/month for the service, plus the registration of the domain, which I think is about £14 for two years from memory.

[Simon]

You could try GMX.com. 

[JB]

I know it's asking a lot, especially for a free email address, but does anyone have any suggestions.

I'm not sure you will be able to get what you are looking for without some cost. What tends to happen to the free email address providers is that they run free for a while and then 'modify' their plans and charge for anything that is not a very basic, and not very useful, service. I'm not referring to Gmail or Yahoo in this as they are a different kettle of fish.

For about £6 for two years you can set up your own domain name. This will include email forwarding to whichever ISP you happen to be with at the time. Depending on which domain name provider you choose will determine the facilities you receive.

Personally I use www.heartinternet.co.uk as they offer me what I want. They were started by the folk who created 123reg.co.uk (Webfusion) and later sold it for a small fortune. Heart Internet gives me my own domain name and IMHO very sophisticated email facilities as well. I can use any name @ my domain address and have it forwarded anywhere. I can even create a small mailing list where one email sent to a specific name @ my domain will be forwarded to a number of other people.

That's just my experience and for just over £3 a year it gives me total control and my own domain owned by me for life.

Of course there are a large number of other providers, such as 1&1, 123reg, Fasthosts etc etc.. It's just that the Heart facilities suit my needs at a low cost. I have no connection with them other than as a customer.

Worth thinking about.

[zappaDPJ]

A small cost domain would also be my recommendation for another reason. Free email services are not recognised by a number of organisations requiring a registration process because the are free and open to abuse. Both Google and Microsoft's free mail registration CATCHPA systems have recently been compromised which has left them open to email address harvesting. Anybody running a vBullitin based message board without a very high level of registration security will have seen the fall out from that.

The bottom line is free mail addresses are likely to become less acceptable so if you want an email address for life then go for a low cost domain.

[Rik]

Good point, Zappa. We ban Hotmail & Yahoo for those very reasons.

[Inactive]

As said before, I use Hotmail, amongst others, I have never had a problem, in fact they have increased their allowance over the years.

[colirv]

A quick and easy fix for £10 p.a. would be Purple Cloud. As explained here you can use one of their sub-domains rather than registering your own domain. With luck you'll get something close to your own name. I did, before going on to register my own domain and hosting it with them.

[Ann]

I have two email addresses, one is my own domain bought and managed by Purplecloud http://www.purplecloud.com/ and the other email address is a tiscali one that I use for rubbish internet things where I suspect they might send me rubbish.  You can sign up for a dial up pay as you go account for free with any number of ISPs, get an email address and never use the ISP.  I've had my tiscali address for years but of course am not a tiscali customer. http://www.tiscali.co.uk/products/dialup/

[JB]

Good point, Zappa. We ban Hotmail & Yahoo for those very reasons.

But not Gmail Rik?

[Rik]

Not yet, JB, so far it's given us no problems.

[JB]

That's good Rik. Maybe because the first large batch of them was 'by invitation'.

[Rik]

It may well be the reason, JB. I know that's how I got mine (and few people seemed interested in taking up the invitations at the time).

[Den]

I have three email address's. Two for my business domain (slightly different variations) and one on the Idnet system and get no spam worth worrying about.

[Rik]

Let me have them, Den, we can soon change that.