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Now so commonplace that we take them for granted but, just a few years ago, they were almost science fiction for the majority of us. And yet, set up and configured properly, they can make a huge difference to your business.
yourname@hotmail.co.uk etc. is not the most professional of e-mail addresses. It looks cheap, it looks tatty and it is. It is much better to have info@yourbusiness.co.uk. Rightly or wrongly, we live in a world where it is all about image, professionalism, advertising and it shouldn't be taken lightly. Image is about giving customers confidence in you. Why do businesses lease a Mayfair address when they could just as easily conduct their business in the Mile End Road. It is about image, about confidence. It says something about you.
It isn't easy to understand all that a good e-mail service can provide. It is an important part of a mix of services that can affect the way you do business and the amount of time you spend at home with the family and that is never a bad thing in this time poor world of ours. So take some time to consider your options.
Click on any Tex Spex heading to get more information.
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TEX SPEX
E-Mail Services.
WHAT TYPE OF E-MAIL??
There are two basic types of e-mail receipt:
- Post Office Protocol (POP3).
- Internet Message Application Protocol (IMAP).
The POP3 service is where an e-mail is addressed to you and reaches our Internet server where it is temporarily stored. When you are ready, the stored e-mails are downloaded onto your computer using an application such as Microsoft Outlook or Winmail. Once downloaded, they are removed from our server. Prior to downloading the e-mails, any stored e-mail may be viewed and responded to using a mobile telephone, at an Internet cafe, a library, or any other WIFI hot spot.
The IMAP service works in a very different manner. Rather than being able to download your e-mails onto your computer, you simply use our Internet server as an extension of your computer; just another hard disk. All e-mails, whether sent or received remain online and can be accessed from your home, office or on the move.
You may also hear the term SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). This is to do with the sending of e-mails and is used by both methods of e-mail receipt.
WHAT ARE THE PROs AND CONs OF EACH E-MAIL TYPE.
POP3 PROs.
- There is a greater sense of privacy and security with POP3. POP3 works by downloading e-mails onto your computer and removing them from our Internet server. Once deleted, no one can view the e-mails on the server.
POP3 CONs.
- By downloading the e-mail onto your computer there is a slightly increased risk of being affected by a virus.
- It is your responsibility to protect your data by undertaking regular back ups of your data and running integrity checks. Sometimes this isn't as easy as it sounds. For instance, the Microsoft Outlook data file is well and truly hidden. If you want to back it up, you first need to find it.
- When you turn off the computer and go home then your e-mails are not physically accessible even if you do have remote access. That urgent e-mail from that important customer, the one you forgot to reply to, will have to wait until tomorrow.
IMAP PROs.
- It is highly flexible as all e-mails, both received and sent, are available to an authorised user 24 hours a day, seven days a week irrespective of their location.
- Multiple users can access the same e-mails at the same time. It eliminates the need for Microsoft Exchange, a very expensive beast, as it can handle shared contacts, calendars, tasks and notes.
- All e-mails and their attachments are automatically backed up every night. The server also uses RAID technology so that replicated hard disks are continually mirrored so if one fails, the others keeps working with no loss of data or service.
IMAP CONs.
- Having all your e-mails online, on someone else's computer, gives rise to a feeling of vulnerability. Whereas knowing that your e-mails are on your computer, in front of you, ready to be accessed is comforting.
A false comfort perhaps as your computer is not under the watchful eye of trained engineers 24 hours a day. It is unlikely that our Internet server will be stolen given the physical security at the data cenre but a laptop can be left in an office, a car, a train and can be easily lost along with all your business data and accounts.
However, you can still make back up copies of your e-mails simply by copying them from the server and pasting them into your local e-mail client e.g. Microsoft Outlook.
IS THERE A WEBMAIL FACILITY?
Yes. We use the Horde Webmail system to provide you with a webmail service.
Horde is a robust, flexible and secure webmail product. It enables you to set up multiple e-mail addresses, special folders for drafts, sent items, spam etc. You can set it up in anyway you want to store your e-mails. A vital feature if you opt for the IMAP service.
To use Webmail, simply enter "https://webmail.yourdomain.co.uk". Then enter your user name and password and off you go. When you use our e-mail services, we initially configure it for you enabling you to adjust it to meet your exact requirements.
IS IT SECURE?
There are a large number of criminals who want access to your bank account, your credit card, your goods and services and anything else they can lay their hands on. They are very plausible and professional so beware.
The bottom line is that you are responsible for your own Internet security. That means that you are responsible for the purchase, installation, configuration and updating of a good quality Internet Security product. You are responsible for the protection of your data.
However, our e-mail services can minimise the security risks. Each e-mail received has faced either a two line or three line whip by the time it has reached you.
- E-mails are scanned by our armoured e-mail server (if you have opted to purchase this service). This is a specialised service which will eliminate the vast bulk of spam e-mails, trojans and viruses. Not a lot gets past this service.
- E-mails that pass the armoured e-mail service are passed onto our own server where they are yet again scanned and any e-mails that may have slipped through are weeded out.
- Finally, the Internet security software that has been installed on your computer will make a final scan of the e-mail and remove any remaining spam, trojans or viruses.
If a virus gets past these defences then the sender is very clever indeed. If a virus does get a hold on your computer then, almost certainly, it will be because:
- your router is configured incorrectly,
- you have visited an infected web site and your browser security settings have allowed the virus to be downloaded and installed,
- a virus has gained access through your use of an Internet chat facility e.g. Windows Messenger.
DOES ALL THIS SECURITY WORK?
The short answer is yes it does. Very few of our existing customers, when following our recommendations, have ever been infected with a virus. There have been instances where a problem with Windows prevented the anti virus software from working. There have also been instances where "my son is a computer expert and he did something to ...." but these have been very few and far between.
Conversely, users of cheap, often free, Internet security software will suffer from viruses, often without even knowing it. If it isn't Kaspersky, McAfee, Norton or Sophos then please make a note of our telephone number, you may need to speak with us.
An example; one of our customers used to suffer some 400 spam e-mails a day. It took between 15 to 20 minutes a day to clear them, that is at least one working day a month. With our armoured e-mail service, the level of spam, trojans and viruses crashed to almost zero.
DO I NEED A DOMAIN NAME?
If you want to be taken seriously in business then the answer must be yes. A Hotmail, Google, BT Internet, AOL etc provide a basic e-mail service that gives the customer an impression of cheapness, tackiness, a botched job.
To use our e-mail services, you will need a domain name.
If you have a few minutes, visit our domains page. Hopefully, that should explain a little more about the importance of a domain name.
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