If you use an email with your very own personal domain name and not a 3rd-party one, you’ll be able to make use of an email software application such as Thunderbird, Outlook or Apple Mail to check and manage your email accounts. The benefit of using such applications is that you can also take advantage of other features, such as calendars and address books. There are two email protocols that you can choose from when you configure the app of your liking to access your mailbox – POP3 and IMAP. With the first protocol, all email messages that are received will be downloaded to your device – desktop or mobile, unless you decide to leave a copy on the email server. With the second protocol, the messages will be displayed locally at your end, but they will remain on the server at all times, so you can set up the account on multiple devices and view the messages from any place. You’ll also be able to view old emails if there’s a problem with your Internet connectivity, which is an immense advantage over web-based services.