Web-based email?

An article at wisegeek.com discusses web-based email, and looks at some of its pros and cons.

I've had GMail and Yahoo Mail accounts for years, and haven't had any problems with them. Web-based email accounts are advantageous for me because I use multiple computers, and multiple operating systems. I don't have to go to any one computer or operating system to check my emails. Also, when I'm away from home, I still have access to my email accounts from any computer that's connected to the internet.

Web-based email's security is questionable; of course, I question the security of any email approach. My feeling is that once you send a message to someone, the security is out of your hands, anyway. But, some web-based email services do offer secure connections. Check out these discussions:

http://lifehacker.com/software/mac-os-x/dont-let-others-listen-in-on-your-email-032565.php

http://lifehacker.com/software/email-apps/secure-webbased-email-032596.php

http://lifehacker.com/software/email-apps/secure-webbased-email-recap-032749.php

Some people also worry about the possibility of a web-based email service crashing and losing all of a person's precious email messages. Interestingly, since I've been using web-based email, I've heard from friends who have had their email disappear, but each of them was using a traditional email address provided by their internet service provider. Hasn't happened to me using GMail or Yahoo Mail, but I realize that it could.

In any case, the remedy is simple: I just save important info and/or email messages to my hard drive. Problem solved.

As the wisegeek article points out, another good reason to have a web-based email account is for all those times when you want to "subscribe to a newsletter, enter a drawing, register at a website, participate in chats, or send feedback to a site..." You might not want to give out your primary email address -- ever heard of spam? A web-based email account provides a perfect "throw-away" email address.

Whether or not you use web-based email, these accounts offer certain advantages. For lots of people, the advantages outweigh the concerns.