In case you have an email with your very own personal domain name and not a 3rd-party one, you will be able to make use of an email software app such as Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail to access and manage your email accounts. The advantage of using such apps is that you can also take advantage of other features, such as calendars and address books. There are two different email retrieval protocols that you can select from when you set up the application of your preference to access your email account – POP3 and IMAP. With the first protocol, all messages that are received will be downloaded on your device – desktop or mobile, unless you choose to keep a copy on the server. With the second protocol, the messages will be displayed at your end, but they will remain on the server at all times, so you can set up the account on numerous devices and view the email messages from any location. You’ll also be able to access old email messages if there is a problem with your Internet connection, which is a big advantage over a web-based service.