Personally I combine a private domain name with Gmail at the moment. Don't want to directly use the gmail account as you never know when I might want to move away from Google (I don't care if NSA/GCHQ read all my emails but I do care that at any time Google could change the service in a way that means I would want to move to someone else).

I actually have 2 private domains. One related to my name for my normal communications (which also has forwards set up for a number of close relatives) and a second domain that is pretty randomly named but I use for sites where I might want to track email (ie if I setup an account with Microsoft then the email address I use would be Microsoft@mydomain.co.uk) - that way if I get spam to that address I know it was the address I used for them and I can if necessary bin all future emails to that address.

Most webmail accounts allow you to "send as" a different address. I have this setup on gmail although it seems you can't create it any more (at least the interface has changed enough that when I tried the other day it wasn't playing ball).

Gmail used to get around spoofing by sending an email to the "send as" address and you had to then click the link to confirm you owned the address.

I don't use BT ISP or email. Nor are BT as evil as google and MS.

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 02-Jan-15 13:57:55)

The security services are a given. As I just replied re BT, google and MS are quite likely to make day-to-day untoward use of any data they have about us. I can at least keep my email away from them.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

The security services are a given. As I just replied re BT, google and MS are quite likely to make day-to-day untoward use of any data they have about us. I can at least keep my email away from them.

I may be less into conspiracy theory but I just don't see this as that likely or significant. The sort of stuff they would potentially do is statistical analysis or scanning to improve service. It is generally unlikely that these companies could be bothered to spend time doing nefarious things with our email - there is just to darn much of it out there to have any impact. With potentially 2.2 million emails per second they just do not have the server or man power to devote to anything particularly significant with our emails.

It's my belief that Google do key word analytics for targetted advertising - but if you run AdBlock that doesn't matter. Can't think why MS should monitor E-Mails.

I am sure this isn't helping MaggieMagpie!!

It was you that introduced the google possibility . I happen not to want to use it, so this sub-discussion may be helping her decide whether or not she wants to.

I believe it is quite a good email service in itself. However I much prefer my method, with phone calls or emails for help responded to almost immediately by people who really know what they are doing.

Do you use google mail (as your main service)?

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 02-Jan-15 15:54:15)

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Do you use google mail (as your main service)?

Ha! My main service, for family and friends is via Sky. I do, however, have other e-mail addresses mail to which I forward to my Gmail account because of it's excellent Spam filtering and remote transmission capability. Actual e-mail retrieval is via Outlook.
A Gmail account is also useful for logging into other services.

In reply to a post by ian72:

Most webmail accounts allow you to "send as" a different address. I have this setup on gmail although it seems you can't create it any more (at least the interface has changed enough that when I tried the other day it wasn't playing ball).

I also have a Gmail account which is setup as you describe.

In the case of and email sent from BTinternet, the 'From' field contains my btinternet email account address, but there is also a 'Reply to' address which is one I have entered with my domain name email address.