Those people with a Vanuatu email account (ie. ending @vanuatu.com.vu)
are able to access their emails via the web and using their favourite
email software. Although such people are unlikely to change their
address as there is unfortunately no alternative, there are benefits to
setting up email such that it is independent of the Internet
provider.
These benefits include;
the freedom to change Internet provider when competition is finally allowed in
the application of free anti-spam and anti-virus screens
the use of an email address that will never have to change
worldwide access to your email account from any internet-connected computer
emails do not get stored temporarily on local servers, with the implied privacy concerns
The general idea is that you set up a 'public' email address which will
never change, and you tell everyone to use that to contact you. All
emails that are sent to it simply redirect automatically to a 'hidden'
email address from one of the free online webmail providers. Your email
software downloads all emails from this 'hidden' Inbox, and sends out
all your emails through that same 'hidden' email account. You use your
TVL Internet account only for physically accessing the internet.
So how do you go about this? Firstly, you register an email address
with one of the free online webmail sites such as HotMail, Yahoo! or
Gmail (which all perform anti-spam and anti-virus checks for free) This
becomes your 'hidden' master Inbox, and this is where your email
software will collect all your emails from. These webmail providers all
have instructions on how to set up your email software to send/receive
through them, and how to switch on anti-spam and anti-virus protection.
They also offer vast amounts of storage if you want to leave a copy of
all emails online in case your computer fails and your backups are not
up-to-date.
Then you set up your own customised 'permanent' email address through
any of the myriad websites offering such a service (Merlin Pacific IT,
for example, can provide
for the equivalent of
Vt200 per month). This becomes your 'public' email address for all the
world to know and use. You set this public address to automatically
on-forward anything it receives to your 'hidden' webmail account, where
the emails are vetted for spam and viruses before being placed in your
'hidden' Inbox. Using TVL's online tools you automatically redirect any
emails sent to the email account associated with your Internet
connection over to your customised permanent address.
It sounds complicated, but the end result is an email address that need
not change no matter where you go or who you use to connect to the
Internet. It also gives you your very own email address. You can of
course avoid the expense of a customised email address and use your
webmail account as the 'permanent' account, but it is getting difficult
to find a memorable HotMail or Yahoo name now!
