What is the Safest Free Email Service Available to the Public?

This is a good question I will try to answer. There really is no “safest, free” e-mail service out there. However, I will discuss the good, bad, and the ugly of using a “free” email service.

Please remember anytime you use a “free” online service, the service itself is not really free. Why? Well because they have your data. Today, data is like a product to sell. People can sell data they collect to people like advertisers and private companies who can make use of it (for good reasons……or bad reasons).

Unfortunately this data is usually personal information you provided through a “free” e-mail account, “free” instant messaging service, “free” video call (e.g., Skype), “free” web hosting account, “free” file storage (who puts their personal files [like photos] on a random, who-knows-who-really-owns-it server anyway?), “free” video hosting service (e.g., YouTube), etc.  You get the idea.

These companies that provide free e-mail services are probably selling your data to other companies. This is one way they can make money to pay for hosting those “free” e-mail accounts to begin with. Also, this is why if you do anything personal on your “free” e-mail account, it isn’t really private.

The Good

  • No technical knowledge of email needed to get started
  • No worry about making backups (if using a reputable provider like Gmail)
  • No worry about blocking spam (the provider should be doing this for you anyway)
  • No worry about managing your own server to run your own e-mail server
  • No worry about others not getting their e-mails to you (reliable providers should be constantly monitoring their servers for issues like Gmail or Yahoo would do)

The Bad

  • No control over how much disk space you can have
  • No control over who the service provider decides to block e-mails coming from / or going to
  • No control over service outages (they probably will just silently fix the issues with little to no notifications about what happened)
  • Sometimes you may not get the exact name you want for your e-mail address, since someone else may have previously taken the same name (for example: you want john.doe@example.com, but someone has already taken that name; you then may have to settle for john.doe193@example.com instead…not something that everyone may want)

The Ugly

  • No control over your data (they have your e-mails, you do not!)
  • No ownership of your e-mails (not only do you not control your e-mails, you technically do not own them either…they do)  —- I know you may disagree with me, but let’s face facts, like I said before, they have the data, not you!
  • Anyone at the company (or individual hosting free accounts) can snoop into your e-mails that you send or receive.
  • Your “free” e-mail service with _all_ of your e-mails could be deactivated and erased with no prior notice for _any_ reason they deem acceptable.
  • Your emails may also be stored permanently in backups the hosting service makes, which means when you delete an e-mail, it may not really be deleted!

You may want to consider carefully reading the “Terms of Service” agreement for “free” e-mail providers to see how they deal with their users’ privacy.


Posted in Computers, Internet and Servers, Security

When Should You Update Software?

Software updates are one of the things that can cause pain for server and network administrators.  They do not have the luxury to just click an “upgrade to next version” button like you would see on a WordPress website.  There is usually more involved when updating software.

When you have a new software (or operating system) you can upgrade to, there are a few things to check out first.

(Not an exhaustive list)

  1. Does it have any features that are beneficial to my daily work?
  2. Does it have any features that have been removed?
  3. Will the currently running software work with the new OS, or have people complained about the software not working correctly?
  4. Will your hardware work with the new software?
  5. How much downtime will an upgrade incur?
  6. If a lot of downtime will occur, is there a way to minimize the downtime?

Whenever you want to use a newer OS, you should always perform a fresh install on the computer. Never just do an in-place upgrade.  This is a very good way to mess things up on the computer.  Even if the in-place upgrade (not a fresh install) seems to work fine, there may be small issues that will pop-up later that you are not aware of.  Then you will wish you had done a fresh install in the first place. 🙂

Also, whenever you want to update a piece of software, always make sure you are using a “stable” release of the software.  Never run Beta, RC, Alpha, or any “not finished” software in production.  This can cause you grief that you could have avoided.


Posted in Computers, Internet and Servers, Operating Systems, Programming, Software

What Does the Bible Say About Money?

Proverbs 13:11   New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,
But the one who gathers by labor increases it.

Proverbs 28:20    New American Standard Bible (NASB)

A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.

1 Timothy 6:10    New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Proverbs 22:16    New American Standard Bible (NASB)

He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself
Or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

Matthew 6:24    New American Standard Bible (NASB)

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Ecclesiastes 5:10    New American Standard Bible (NASB)

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

Proverbs 13:22    New American Standard Bible (NASB)

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

1 Timothy 6:9    New American Standard Bible (NASB)

But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.


Posted in Christian

What Does the Bible Say About Plotting Wicked Schemes?

Proverbs 26:27   New American Standard Bible (NASB)

He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

 

Psalm 64:1-8   New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers,
From the tumult of those who do iniquity,
Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They aimed bitter speech as their arrow,
To shoot from concealment at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.
They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, “Who can see them?”
They devise injustices, saying,
“We are ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep.
But God will shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they will be wounded.
So they will make him stumble;
Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will shake the head.


Posted in Christian

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