"AL" wrote

|
| Your email could be hacked even from inside your computer if you click
| on the right (wrong?) link.

That's true, but "real" email is different. First,
it's not free, so there's some expectation of
service. It's also stored on your computer and
using POP3 exclusively with real email means
your email on the server is deleted when you
download it. Yes, your computer can
be hacked. But freebie online services present
other risks. This issue is a good example.

There's also the issue of not really owning
your email. Court cases have defined your email
as owned by the service. (They don't subpoena
you for your email. They subpoena Yahoo, Google,
Hotmail, or whatever.) You also sacrifice privacy
in that most freebie webmail providers claim the
right to read your email for the purpose of targetted
ads. Freebie webmail is not your email, any more
than freebie Facebook pages are yours to customize
as you like.

As the geeks like to say, if you're not paying
for the service then you're the product.