Beware the Free (Gmail) Service

Google's a cool company and has a lot of really useful tools and services. But, I never signed up for Gmail. There still are lots of concern about privacy, such as (from Gmail's own privacy page):
- "Residual copies of deleted messages and accounts may take up to 60 days to be deleted from our active servers and may remain in our offline backup systems." and
- "The Gmail service includes relevant advertising and related links based on the IP address, content of messages and other information related to your use of Gmail."

OK, I get that there are things that Google needs to do to make the service free (*nothing's* free, really). But this recent post about Gmail hacking reveals a new vulnerability, that I liken to the viruses that plague Windows: when you get so big and ubiquitous, it starts making sense for people to custom-create software hacks to manipulate and use your system to scam your users/customers. It seems that Gmail has gotten big enough and popular enough for scammers to actually study and figure out the backdoors to ply their trade.

Our recommendation is that people sign up for a cheap (via GoDaddy or 1and1, for example) domain name and host, and create a simple POP3 mailbox with them. It might cost $50-$100 per year depending on features, but it's a great insurance policy against some of these Gmail limitations. It also immunizes you from a future locked in with one company. If, for instance, Google decides to do something "evil" (their motto: "Don't be evil."), you might not want to be associated with them any more. Well, if you have business cards and other marketing materials all over the place with yourname@gmail.com on them, you've got an expensive dilemma on your hands.

Simple advice: think about what you're giving up when you sign up for something "free." Most likely, there's something of value that you're giving up for the service, and it almost certainly involves your privacy.