Is anyone using this new e-mail service from google??? G E-MAIL.
pro's? cons? and is it still in the beta version??.....thanks

priscilla


i-MAC newbie out of training

> Is anyone using this new e-mail service from google??? G
>E-MAIL.
>pro's? cons? and is it still in the beta
>version??.....thanks
I'm not, and will not be, using g-mail.

Yes, they are still testing the BETA.

On my website I have a notice up in anticipation ...
Dear Gmail user:
Due to privacy considerations, we cannot respond unless you resend your email from a different account.

Until Google can give a written definition of their privacy policy then my stance will stand.

I have the same policy with AOL addresses.

Some news stories have suggested that Google intends to keep copies of users' email messages even after they've deleted them, or closed their accounts. This is simply not true. Google keeps multiple backup copies of users' emails so that we can recover messages and restore accounts in case of errors or system failure. Even if a message has been deleted or an account is no longer active, messages may remain on our backup systems for some period of time. This is standard practice in the email industry, which Gmail and other major webmail services follow in order to provide a reliable service for users. We will make reasonable efforts to remove deleted information from our systems as quickly as is practical.

Protecting your privacy

Google takes privacy very seriously, and your trust is important to us. Gmail users should know:

Google does not share any email content or other personally identifiable information with advertisers.
No humans read any email messages to target advertising or related information that users may see on Gmail.
Users only see unobtrusive, targeted ads alongside their Gmail messages.
Google also takes several steps to guard the confidentiality of users' information by offering a number of industry-leading protections. Among other things, Gmail users benefit from:

Encrypted access (HTTPS) available via https://gmail.google.com.
An SSL-encrypted login by default. Your password is always encrypted when it is sent over the Internet.
Blocked transmission of executable files, which often contain viruses or spyware that scanners may miss.
No loading of external images by default. Many marketing or spam messages include hidden "web bugs" embedded in external images. Typically, when these images are loaded, the web bugs signal that the email address is active, thereby helping companies further perfect their recipient list for marketing or spam messages. Not loading external images helps to prevent this.
Minimized "referrer" header information. When you click on links in messages, the web browser that loads contains a referrer header. When you click on links in Gmail, Google takes steps to eliminate this referrer header, preventing others from knowing that you clicked on a link from an email.

priscilla


i-MAC newbie out of training

Google uses the term "governmental request" three times on their terms-of-use page and once on their privacy page. Google's language means that all Gmail account holders have consented to allow Google to show any and all email in their Gmail accounts to any official from any government whatsoever, even when the request is informal or extralegal, at Google's sole discretion. Why should we send email to Gmail accounts under such draconian conditions?

Google has not even formally stated in their privacy policy that they will not keep a list of keywords scanned from incoming email, and associate these with the incoming email address in their database. They've said that their advertisers won't get personally identifiable information from email, but that doesn't mean that Google won't keep this information for possible future use. Google has never been known to delete any of the data they've collected, since day one. For example, their cookie with the unique ID in it, which expires in 2038, has been tracking all of the search terms you've ever used while searching their main index.

If Google builds a database of keywords associated with email addresses, the potential for abuse is staggering. Google could grow a database that spits out the email addresses of those who used those keywords. How about words such as "box cutters" in the same email as "airline schedules"? Can you think of anyone who might be interested in obtaining a list of email addresses for that particular combination? Or how about "mp3" with "download"? Since the RIAA has sent subpoenas to Internet service providers and universities in an effort to identify copyright abusers, why should we expect Gmail to be off-limits?

>Google uses the term "governmental request" three times on
>their terms-of-use page and once on their privacy page.
>Google's language means that all Gmail account holders have
>consented to allow Google to show any and all email in their
>Gmail accounts to any official from any government whatsoever,
>even when the request is informal or extralegal, at Google's
>sole discretion.

>Why should we expect g-mail to be off limits?

Personally, I dont expect it to be.

What e-mail provider do you use? Is that provider off-limits, that would be something else.

Because mine all have the same clauses about government officials, including my university and my privately held ISP. I also believe yahoo has similar things, and I can remember one occasion where Hotmail not only turned over e-mail, but also the ip addresses used to check the e-mail account, this resulted in the apprehension of a virus creator.

And if you had your own e-mail server, you would too.

Its just a way to cover their arses in case the FBI comes along and asks to install carnivore on their systems.

They have to if under court order.

As far as the other complaints.

My university also keeps redundant backups, just in case. They created a whole nother temp storages server just recently to back up for updates over the summer session.

Concerning the spiders crawling your e-mail. I could care less. I don't have any e-mails in my box that talk about anything illicit or illegal. Even if I had the desire to talk about such activities, I wouldnt do it over e-mail, e-mail is one of the least secure methods of communication available on then net, save maybe instant messaging. Email is easily sniffed and spoofed.


When GMail goes public, I'm gonna sign up for one, I just hope the billions of others don't take all the good usernames before I get there.

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I agree with your view. I have already signed up and anyone who is so worried about the legalese in their agreement cannot use any email on the net. They all have and keep your info. It only stops the ones dumb enough to put things in email that they never want seen in history. It is too early to have any real comments on how well it works for me.

Ed W.