Brendan’s Blog

I wanted an email address I could keep for life, and I wanted the flexibility to change what email service I used.  The best solution for me was to register my own Internet domain name (bmhome.com) which I use for personal email and web pages.

My Internet registrar (currently GoDaddy) provides domain name services (DNS) as a part of the annual domain registration fee.  I can determine which email and web hosting services are used by adjusting the DNS configuration at GoDaddy.  Today I host my personal email with GoogleApps and my personal web site at GoDaddy.

GoogleApps combines the features of Google Mail and Google Calendar with your personal (or business) domain name.  All of the data is stored on Google’s servers.  My email address doesn’t have Google’s name in it, and I can move it one day if I choose to.  In addition to my mailbox, my wife also has one, and eventually I’m sure my daughters will too.    GoogleApps comes in two flavors, free and premium.  My email mailbox exceeds 10GB so I pay Google’s annual fee for premium service.

My favorite feature of Google Apps is the large mailbox.  Every email I have sent and received for over ten years is at my fingertips.  I use Google’s web-based Gmail interface to read and send my personal mail every day.  I even have rules configured at Google to forward some email to my Blackberry, which helps with potentially time sensitive notes.  Like Gmail, GoogleApps supports POP and IMAP in addition to their native web email interface, so you can use MS Outlook or other traditional email client software.

Google does a really good job removing unwanted spam, though I can go see what it filters anytime I want.  In the past two years, I’ve never had a false positive, and very little spam gets to my inbox.  Google also has a Blackberry application that allows me to read/compose/and search personal mail from my Blackberry without utilizing my employer’s Exchange mailbox.

Most businesses provide some sort of remote access so that employees can do work from home, or access services like e-mail when away from the office.  LogMeIn provides a free service that allows you to remotely access your PC at work or at home if both you and it are connected to the Internet.  I don’t use this service often, but it is really handy when I do.

1. Sign up for a free account
2. Use your web browser to install a small software component on the PC you want to remotely access
3. From a remote location, go to the LogMeIn web site, and login to your account
4. Select the PC you want to remotely access
5. Remotely view and interact with your PC.

The free service allows you to have more than one PC associated with your account (I have seven.)  The software works through most firewalls without issue.  LogMeIn publishes a security white paper which describes the mechanisms in place to ensure only you can access your PC, and to protect the data in transit.  LogMeIn also provides information for system administrators to prohibit LogMeIn on their networks.