With basic knowledge of DNS and how it works, it is actually possible to set up a free e-mail account and get your mails delivered as if it was from a professionally managed server. Here is the procedure which explains you to create your own Email service for your school, college, office or business :
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First, set up an e-mail account with any free e-mail server, say, yourname@gmail.com. Or if you have bought an internet connection from you ISP, you can use the e-mail account of your ISP (yourname @bsnl.com, etc.)
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Set up your own Web site, in one of many free hosting services. Check this for details
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Buy your own domain name (www.mycompany.com). Indicative prices may vary depending upon the country you are in and service you are using.
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If the provider you bought your domain from supports DNS, configure it to point to your Web site already hosted in the hosting service. Else, use a free DNS service such as ZoneEdit (www.zoneedit.com) or no-IP (www.no-ip.com)
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Using ZoneEdit as the example, in the control panel, enter the name of the e-mail account you need to have as an official e-mail account, viz., mail@mycompany.com, and use ZoneEdit’s redirection service to redirect all mail sent to this address to your free account (yourname@rgmail.com or your-
name@bsnl.com, etc.) -
You can use Outlook, Outlook Express to send mail. Just use the outgoing mail server name such as
smtp.your ISP as your outgoing mail server. If you have a leased line or ISDN at office, it is easier to send and receive the 10 MB attachments that can be sent from most e-mail accounts these days -
Any e-mail your business associates will receive from your free account will appear to come from mail @mycompany.com, thus imparting a professional look to your business.
the best bet would be setting up a google apps account which takes only 5 mins and comes with all the spam control and virus protection 🙂
ya. But Google Apps don’t have every feature when compared to a customized service
A good try but too complicated especially for new-comers. The best and the simplest way is Google Apps which provides you free 50 accounts. But its no more free for everyone. Thanks to Mr. Pavan ( Twitter @pavankumar) he found out the way to use that service for free. Here is the link to his article: http://www.techpavan.com/2009/06/22/sign-up-free-google-apps-standard-domain-mail/
Check out my second comment there on his blog below and you will get to know easily.