If you have an email account with your own domain name instead of a third-party one, you’ll be able to use an email software application such as Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail to check and administer your email messages. The advantage of using such apps is that you can also take advantage of other features, such as address books and calendars. There are two email protocols that you can select from when you configure the app of your choice to access your mailbox – POP3 and IMAP. With the first protocol, all email messages that are received will be downloaded on your device – mobile or desktop, unless you choose to store a copy on the mail server. With the second protocol, the messages will be displayed locally at your end, but they will stay on the server all the time, so you can set up the email account on multiple devices and access the email messages from any location. You’ll also be able to see old emails in case there’s a predicament with your Internet access, which is an immense advantage over web-based email services.