I currently get my internet connectivity, e-mail service, and web-hosting
service from the same provider. I recently complained to my ISP about
backscatter SPAM I was getting from other people's infected machines
that were sending out SPAM to invalid e-mail addresses and spoofing me
as the sender. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_spoofing and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backscatter_(email) for good articles about
these subjects.) Their response was to suspend my e-mail access and delete
my web site!
I finally got my e-mail access back, but my web site is still down.
This experience has convinced me that tying my e-mail and web-hosting
to my ISP is a bad idea. The two extra services are free to subscribers
to their internet access service, but I don't want problems in one area
to adversely affect the other areas. Clearly that is not the case now.
So I am looking for a good e-mail provider and a good web-hosting provider.
For the e-mail service I want a provider that has good protection against
backscatter SPAM, provides a web-based e-mail client, and does not force
me to view tons of ads in order to get to their web-mail client. I want
all transmission of credentials, particularly passwords, passed between
the client and the server, to be encrypted, not sent across the network
in clear text, where a sniffer operating in promiscuous mode could intercept
them. I also want the e-mail provider to work well with Debian mailing
lists. (I have heard, for example, that when gmail users post to a list
to which they are subscribed they do not receive copies of their own posts.)
For web-hosting, I am looking for one which allows me to upload and download
web pages and other files to my site via SSL-encrypted FTP, whether implicit
or explicit SSL I don't care, so that passwords sent across the internet
cannot be intercepted by a sniffer.
Obviously, low cost is important too. I'm not a business. My web site is
providing a public service for free. There are no ads on my web site, and
there is no money coming in to pay for the web hosting. Another important
consideration is that I don't want the service provider, e-mail or web-hosting,
selling information about me to anyone.
So, does anyone wish to share their experiences, good or bad? Is there anyone
you wish to recommend? Is there anyone you want to warn me to stay away from?
All opinions are welcome.