Top 12 Free Email Services

If you are looking for a free email service, you can be picky. You'll be rewarded with plenty of storage, effective spam filtering, a fast interface, desktop email program access and more. Find the top 10 free email services to choose from reviewed here.

PS: Looking for free email, you may also be interested in

• free POP3 and IMAP email services,
• free Windows email programs or
• free Mac email programs.

1. Gmail - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher Gmail is the Google approach to email and chat. Practically unlimited free online storage allows you to collect all your messages, and Gmail's simple but very smart interface lets you find them precisely and see them in context without effort. POP and powerful IMAP access bring Gmail to any email program or device. Gmail puts contextual advertising next to the emails you read. Gmail Review | Gmail Resources | Gmail Screenshots | Gmail Tips

2. AIM Mail - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher AIM Mail, AOL's free web-based email service, shines with unlimited online storage, very good spam protection and a rich, easy to use interface. Unfortunately, AIM Mail lacks a bit in productivity (no labels, smart folders and message threading), but makes up for some of that with very functional IMAP (as well as POP) access. AIM Mail Review | AIM Mail Tips

3. Yahoo! Mail - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher Yahoo! Mail is your ubiquitous email program on the web with unlimited storage and RSS news feeds, SMS texting and instant messaging to boot. While Yahoo! Mail is generally a joy to use, free-form labelling and smart folders would be nice, and the spam filter could catch junk even more effectively. Yahoo! Mail Review | Yahoo! Mail Resources | Yahoo! Mail Tips

4. Inbox.com - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher Inbox.com not only gives you 5 GB to store your mail online but also a highly polished, fast and functional way to access it via either the web (including speedy search, free-form labels and reading mail by conversation) or through POP in your email program. Unfortunately, IMAP access is not supported by Inbox.com, and its tools for organizing mail could be improved with smart or self-teaching folders. Inbox.com Review | Inbox.com Tips

5. Yahoo! Mail Classic - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher Yahoo! Mail Classic is a comfortable, reliable and secure email service with unlimited storage. A pretty good spam filter keeps the junk out, and you can send rich emails using Yahoo! Mail's HTML editor. Yahoo! Mail Classic Review | Yahoo! Mail Resources | Yahoo! Mail Classic Tips

6. FastMail Guest Account - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher FastMail is a great free email service with IMAP access, useful features, one of the best web-based email interfaces and few ads. FastMail Review | FastMail Resources | FastMail Tips

7. Windows Live Hotmail - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher Windows Live Hotmail is a free email service that gives you a 5 GB of online storage, fast search, solid security and an interface easy as a desktop email program. When it comes to organizing mail, Windows Live Hotmail does not go beyond folders (to saved searches and tags, for example), its spam filter could be more effective, and POP or IMAP access are missing. Windows Live Hotmail Review | Windows Live Hotmail Resources | Windows Live Hotmail Tips

8. Bluebottle - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher Bluebottle offers email accounts that are practically free of spam (using challenge/response filtering) and can be accessed on the web or using POP with any email program. Bluebottle could offer more tools for efficiently handling mail, though, online storage is in a somewhat short supply, and challenge/response filtering comes with its own share of problems, too. Bluebottle Review

9. BigString.com - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher BigString.com is a free 2 GB email service that includes rich secure and certified mail services and lets you password-protect, expire or edit sent messages, for example. Unfortunately, BigString.com is not equally well equipped for handling incoming mail and lacks organizing tools. BigString.com Review

10. HotPOP - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher HotPOP offers free, reliable email accounts you can use with any email program using POP3 and SMTP. In addition, HotPOP lets you forward incoming messages to multiple other addresses. Unfortunately, HotPOP lacks IMAP access and a web-based email interface and is a bit short on storage space. HotPOP Review

11. goowy mail - Free Email Service

View Full-Size Heinz Tschabitscher goowy mail is your rich Desktop email program on the web with a fast interface that lets you drag and drop, use context menus and enjoy lots of pleasant eye candy. In addition to email, goowy offers a calendar, an RSS feed reader and games done in a similar fashion. More features and online storage would do goowy mail good, though. goowy mail Review

12. My Way Mail - Free Email Service

View Full-Size

Heinz Tschabitscher

My Way Mail is a clean, fast and fun (though not particularly advanced) free email service.
It lacks secure messaging and other advanced, non-essential features, though.
My Way Mail Review | My Way Mail Tips

Tired of Spam? We'll Help You Install A Spam Filter

Follow these handy steps to a spam-free inbox

Million-dollar scams, innuendos of sexual dysfunction, and cheap drugs from offshore suppliers just don't get us as excited as the authors of this rubbish think it should. Aside from polluting your inbox with all sorts of unmentionables, spam costs you money to receive, it's frequently obscene, degrading, and, in some cases, illegal.

It's time to stop the flood, but where do you start? The most effective way to reduce your spam intake is to install server-side or client side antispam software. Or better yet, both. We'll walk you through the steps to install and configure free antispam software.

Server-Side vs. Client-Side Antispam Solutions

Internet Service Providers ( ISPs) and network administrators typically use server-side software to block spam. Server-side software resides on the mail server and filters messages as they arrive. The software will typically mark mail as potential spam prior to a user downloading it, or delete the message entirely. This whole process is usually invisible to the end user.

Client-side antispam software, on the other hand, resides on your home or business desktop and is used in conjunction with your e-mail client to filter spam. Client-side systems don't block spam on the server level, however these systems can be effective at isolating spam from legitimate messages, making inbox management a much easier task.

The best defense is to combine server-side and client filtering as part of your overall antispam strategy. Luckily, there are a number of products that that do the job, whether you've got just a single home computer or network servers providing e-mail filtering to hundreds of client computers. Low-cost options such as Mailshell or Norton Internet Security (a suite of applications that includes antispam software) are available to nonprofits from TechSoup Stock's catalog for a small administrative fee.

Plenty of free spam filters are available as well. Rather than cover installation and upkeep of several products, we're keeping things simple by covering the installation and use of just one: the Mercury Mail Server by Pegasus, which is free and available for Windows and Novell computers.

Setting Up Mercury as a POP3 Antispam Filter

The steps laid out below will help you set up Mercury as a personal antispam filtering system for your home or business POP3 e-mail accounts.

1. First, download the Mercury Mail Server (the current version listed on the site is, "Mercury Mail Transport System for Win32 and NetWare Systems v4.01a") at Pegasus Mail .
2. Double-Click the Mercury install file you just downloaded.
3. Click "Setup" when prompted (you will need administrative rights on your computer).
4. Select "New Installation."
5. Click "No Netware Support."
6. Select the folder where you'd like the program to be installed.
7. Click "No Pegasus Mail Integration." (Unless you use the Pegasus mail client. In that case, click, "OK. Accept this directory"). If not, accept the directory on the next screen.
8. Tick "Mercury P" (POP3 Server Module) and "Mercury D" (POP3 Client Module).
9. Click "OK Continue Installation."
10. Click "Install No SMTP Client."
11. Type the domain of your ISP (for example, myisp.com) in the box "This Machine's Internet Domain Name." Type "postmaster" as the postmaster username. Click "OK Continue Installation."
12. Click "Strict" for relay control, click "OK Continue Installation" for the Mail queue window.
13. Click "Install Mercury 32," and then click "Exit" when you see the "Installation Complete" window.

Configure Your Mail Server to Filter Spam

1. Start Mercury. The program will start with three small windows displayed in a larger window. (To organize the windows, click the menu "Window" and select "Tile.")
2. Click "Configuration" from the menu and select "Manage Local Users." Click "Add" and enter your ISP username in the username field (this is the part of your e-mail address before the '@' symbol). Enter your real name and the password you use for e-mail (leave "APOP Secret" blank). Click "OK."
3. Click "Add" again to create an account for your spam messages. (Just call this account spam and make up an appropriate password.) Click "OK" and "Close."
4. Click "Configuration" from the top menu and select "MercuryD POP3 Client."
5. Click "Add" and enter the connection details for your ISP (these settings are the same as those used by your e-mail client). Leave the fields "Local User," "Default User," and "Headers" blank. Click "OK" and "Save".

Now that you've finished these steps, Mercury will now automatically check your e-mail and move any spam identified by the preset antispam rules to the "spam" account. We're almost done.

Configure Your E-mail Client(s) to Use Mercury

1. Open your e-mail client. (We'll use Microsoft Outlook 2000 for this example, however the process is similar for most e-mail clients.)
2. Click "Tools," "Accounts," "Properties." In the box called "Incoming Mail (POP3)" delete your ISP's setting (probably something like: mail.myisp.com) and in its place enter: 127.0.0.1 (this is an IP address that points to your computer). Click "Next" and "Finished".
3. Close and restart Outlook. Make sure Mercury is also running and click "Send and Receive" to make sure everything is working properly. (If you receive errors, make sure you've followed these steps and entered the correct information.)
4. Create a folder in your e-mail client called "spam". Click "Tools", "Accounts", "Add," "Mail," and follow the prompts to create an account called "spam" that moves any mail received to the spam folder. Make sure you enter the same password you used for the spam account in Mercury and also set the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) for this account to 127.0.0.1 (this is a trick used to prevent spam containing Trojans or worms from using the spam account to redistribute themselves. Because you haven't configured Mercury to act as an outgoing mail server, any mail sent through the spam account will automatically generate an error making you aware of the infection).

If you've followed these steps Mercury is now acting as a POP3 antispam filter for all of your inbound mail. Network administrators can use Mercury as an antispam gateway and mail server by installing the Mercury S SMTP Server and Mercury E SMTP Client. The steps to migrate Mercury from a home antispam system to a corporate system are very easy to follow (everything you need to know is contained in Mercury "Help").

Now that you have installed and configured Mercury, here are a few things you might like to experiment with: familiarize yourself with the Content Control rules used by Mercury ("Configuration" menu, "Content Control"). From here, you can create your own filters or definitions of the content you'd like to designate as spam. Don't be afraid to experiment with these settings (you can always reload Mercury if you make a catastrophic mistake!). For more help, visit this Web page .

If you administer a network or are just interested in running your own full-fledged antispam network mail server, you can implement Mercury's very powerful SMTP and IMAP server features (available by selecting "Configuration" and "Protocol Modules" from the Mercury menu). Everything you need is free and provided with the Mercury install program.

Lastly, be sure to ask for help if you need it. A number of our TechSoup experts use Mercury (just visit our forums to get help). And, typing a query into Google will turn-up a wealth of useful resources (search for "Pegasus Mercury Mail").

Britain Hired Astrologer to Fight Hitler

LONDON (March 3) — Desperate for a glimpse into Adolf Hitler's unpredictable mind, British spies hired an astrologer during World War II to write horoscopes for him and other Nazi leaders, documents declassified Tuesday show. They soon regretted it.

During World War II, British spies hired Louis de Wohl, here in 1960, to write horoscopes for Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders, newly declassified documents show. The spies hoped the horoscopes would give them insight into Hitler, but they soon came to regret the hire. One official called de Wohl "a charlatan and an imposter."

The file released to Britain's National Archives catalogs the frustrations of MI5 handlers as they tried to prevent the astrologer, Louis de Wohl, from publicly embarrassing high-ranking intelligence and military officers.

"I have never liked Louis de Wohl — he strikes me as a charlatan and an imposter," reads the first line in the astrologer's file. The letter is typical and appeared to be signed by Dick White, who went on to become the head of Britain's domestic spy agency, MI5, in the 1950s.

That view didn't keep de Wohl from winning a temporary rank as a British army captain. He was sent by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who did not believe in astrology, to the U.S. to persuade Americans that the Nazis would lose within months if they entered the war.

When de Wohl's services were no longer needed, intelligence agents puzzled over how to get rid of the man who called himself Britain's state seer, the declassified documents show.

De Wohl was born in Berlin in 1903 and fled to Britain in 1935 to avoid Nazi persecution for being part Jewish. His wife, Alexandra, fled to Santiago, Chile, where she claimed to be a Romanian princess and was known as "La Baronessa."

In London, de Wohl claimed variously to be a Hungarian nobleman, the nephew of an Austrian conductor, the grandson of a British banking magnate and a relative of the Lord Mayor of London. His break came, he wrote in a later book, during a dinner at the Spanish Embassy, when a Spanish duchess asked de Wohl to reveal Hitler's horoscope to Britain's foreign secretary, Lord Halifax.

Sir Charles Hambro, the head of Britain's Special Operations Executive, soon hired de Wohl as part of his network of agents across Europe.

The government rented the astrologer a hotel apartment on London's exclusive Park Lane. There, de Wohl wrote horoscopes for Allied and Nazi leaders on paper with the letterhead "Psychological Research Bureau."

But de Wohl's predictions were often vague. His December 1942 prediction read: "The German astrologers must pray that enemy action does not force the Fueher into making important decisions within the first eight days of the month (of July), as this would lead to great disaster."

Agents complained de Wohl's flamboyant demeanor was destroying their carefully constructed cover story that his apartment was paid for by a wealthy female patron and that his special operations liaison officer was a mistress. Agents also complained of his boasting about connections to the War Office and Naval Command.

His task in the U.S. was to counter a convention of pro-German astrologers that had predicted Hitler would win the war. Billing himself as "The Modern Nostradamus," de Wohl proclaimed the stars showed the opposite — that Hitler would lose.

Ultimately it was Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, that brought the U.S. into the war — not de Wohl's assurances that President Franklin Roosevelt had a stunning horoscope.

His services no longer needed, de Wohl was called back to London in February 1942. He returned to find his hotel apartment stripped bare and his "department" disbanded.

According to the released MI5 correspondence, senior officers offered a number of proposals on how to "dispose" of de Wohl, including interning him in a camp or moving him to a remote corner of the country. Two other options are blanked out.

Deciding de Wohl was potentially damaging the reputation of his employers, MI5 decided to keep him happy and continue to employ him.

But even Hambro had tired of the astrologer.

"I have no doubt if I checked up his successes, I would see that he had more than an equal number of failures, but I have not the inclination nor the time to do so," Hambro wrote.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/britain-hired-astrologer-to-fight-hitler/20080304073609990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Clinic Hepatitis Case May Not Be Unique

WASHINGTON (March 3) - An outbreak of hepatitis C at a clinic in the Western state of Nevada might represent "the tip of an iceberg" of safety problems at clinics around the country, says the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A hepatitis C outbreak at a Las Vegas clinic has health officials concerned that similar problems could be happening at clinics across the U.S. The Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada was shut down on Friday after the revelation that six patients contracted the liver disease due to unsafe practices including clinic staff reusing syringes.

The city of Las Vegas shut down the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada last Friday after state health officials determined that six patients had contracted hepatitis C because of unsafe practices including clinic staff reusing syringes and vials. Nevada health officials are trying to contact about 40,000 patients who received anesthesia by injection at the clinic between March 2004 and Jan. 11 to urge them to be tested for hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV.

In Washington, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, met Monday with CDC director Dr. Julie Gerberding, and the Democratic leader shared a media conference call with her after their meeting. Both strongly condemned practices at the clinic.

Health care accreditors "would consider this a patient safety error that falls into the category of a `never event,' meaning this should never happen in contemporary health care organizations," said Gerberding.

"This is the largest number of patients that have ever been contacted for a blood exposure in a health care setting. But unfortunately we have seen other large-scale situations where similar practices have led to patient exposures," Gerberding said.

"Our concern is that this could represent the tip of an iceberg, and we need to be much more aggressive about alerting clinicians about how improper this practice is," she said. At the same time, she said, inspectors also should continue "to invest in our ability to detect these needles in a haystack at the state level, so we recognize when there has been a bad practice and patients can be alerted and tested."

Reid said he would work with Gerberding to try to get the CDC more resources in an emergency spending bill Congress is to take up in April.

State health officials said they were unsure how many of the 40,000 patients they had been able to contact since making the risk public last Wednesday. At least initially they did not have correct addresses for 1,400, officials said.

The clinic's head, Dr. Dipak Desai, bought space in the newspaper the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sunday in which he expressed "my deepest sympathy to all our patients and their families for the fear and uncertainty that naturally arises from this situation."

Desai offered no apology but said a foundation was being set up to cover testing costs. He also defended practices at his clinic, which performs colonoscopies.

"The evidence does not support that syringes or needles were ever reused from patient to patient at the center," Desai wrote.

A spokeswoman, Nancy Katz, declined Monday to comment further.

The Clark County district attorney is investigating, as are various health agencies, including the Nevada State Board of Nursing. Several lawsuits already have been filed and a hearing is scheduled Thursday before a Nevada legislative committee.

It may never be known how many people contracted hepatitis C because of unsafe practices at the endoscopy center, state health officials said. Brian Labus, head epidemiologist of the Southern Nevada Health District, said that because 4 percent of the population has hepatitis C, he expects to get numerous positive results after the at-risk clinic patients are tested and it may be impossible to determine which of those were infected at the clinic.

Of the six cases that health officials traced to the clinic, five happened on the same day and genetic testing was used to make the connection, Labus said.

Hepatitis C can cause fatal liver disease as well jaundice and fatigue, but 80 percent of people infected show no symptoms. Hepatitis B is a more rare and serious disease that attacks the liver.

http://news.aol.com/health/story/ar/_a/clinic-hepatitis-case-may-not-be-unique/20080304091509990001

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Hillary wins Texas!

Hillary wins Texas!

Just kidding, sorry

The Funniest Photo Ever Posted on an eBay Auction (NSFW)

How can you tell this table is being sold by a man?
And don't cheat either!! It's not hard to
tell!!
This table was for sale on eBay. How can you tell it is being sold by a man?
Can you solve this little riddle? First look and guess.
You will find the answer below, but don't cheat!
Know the answer? You can click on the picture to enlarge it.
If you still can't , scroll down now.....












OK, Look in the mirror.
Remember, if you are posting a picture on the world-wide web,
WEAR CLOTHES when taking the picture.
I NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD...
AND IT WAS POSTED ON eBay!!!