Verizon Leaving he Email Business

[n2ize]

Today I had to call Verizon FiOS for some tech support. During the call the agent mentioned that Verizon is leaving the email business and they will soon shut down their "verizon.net" email domain. Us customers are given two options. One is we can keep our "verizon.net" email addresses but they will be operated by AOL (which doesn't thrill me very much),. Apparently VZ decided to outsource it's email domain to AOL. The other option is to migrate to another email provider of my own choice. This will be my preferred option although it will mean that I will have to notify people of my email address change. It's a Verizon sort of thing, they seem to enjoy cutting out services except for phone, internet, and TV services.

In the meantime does anyone know a good email provider that is reliable and flexible (i.e. POP, imap, encryption, etc.). ?

[KC2UGV]

GMail.

[n2ize]

GMail.I have one Gmail account open that I've been using for a while. When VZ is ready to pull the plug I might just migrate all my email services over to Gmail.

[KG4CGC]

outlook.com

[n6hcm]

pretty much anything is better than aol email.

[WA4GSD]

So how is VZ communicating this to it's email subscribers? This is the first I'm hearing about it.

Oh wait, I bet they probably aren't planning to... it will be a 'seamless transition' to AOL, then when it doesn't work you call for tech spt and find out.

Ah.

[W3WN]

Today I had to call Verizon FiOS for some tech support. During the call the agent mentioned that Verizon is leaving the email business and they will soon shut down their "verizon.net" email domain. Us customers are given two options. One is we can keep our "verizon.net" email addresses but they will be operated by AOL (which doesn't thrill me very much),. Apparently VZ decided to outsource it's email domain to AOL. The other option is to migrate to another email provider of my own choice. This will be my preferred option although it will mean that I will have to notify people of my email address change. It's a Verizon sort of thing, they seem to enjoy cutting out services except for phone, internet, and TV services.

In the meantime does anyone know a good email provider that is reliable and flexible (i.e. POP, imap, encryption, etc.). ?
You do know that Verizon owns AOL, right?

Their existing email infrastructure is outdated, to say the least. So someone at Verizon made the decision to consolidate Verizon email into the (slightly) more modern AOL email, since it would be cheaper.

Or it would be, if they were handling it right. Instead, they're their usual clumsy selves, so to speak, from one aspect to the next.

And if you think this is being badly handled, just wait... Verizon is about to buy Yahoo as well. Can't wait to see what they do to, er, with THAT email system... and forums, groups, email lists and...

[W3WN]

So how is VZ communicating this to it's email subscribers? This is the first I'm hearing about it.

Oh wait, I bet they probably aren't planning to... it will be a 'seamless transition' to AOL, then when it doesn't work you call for tech spt and find out.

Ah.They're phasing it in. We learned about it a few months ago, just last week got the "hey, now it's your turn!" emails.

We have a little over a month to transition.

And so far, it's been anything but seamless. "Just go to this web page!" 404 error. Lovely.

[WA4GSD]

Nice.

Haven't seen any emails about "my turn" yet, the XYL is going to try and switch to AOL, she doesn't want to loose her addresses or update all the accounts.

I've had 2 gmail accounts for a few months with everything from Verizon fwd'd to them, guess I better start the full conversion to gmail.
Ugh!

[KD8TUT]

In the meantime does anyone know a good email provider that is reliable and flexible (i.e. POP, imap, encryption, etc.). ?

I'd go with the gmail option.

Speaking as a person who had his own mail server for 13 years, it's setup the closest to how I would configure my own mail service.

The ads don't bother me. It's been rock solid as a platform... and the two factor auth is really nice with a smartphone.

If there's something better, I do not know about it... so look at other suggestions carefully. Others might know things I don't.

[N1LAF]

How about QTH.com? I have been using QTH.com for hosting, and never had an issue with e-mail. I saw 'encryption' under email on my control panel. Not free, $1 a month is a small price to pay, no ads, and choice of web mail clients as well as all the email download options.

(never had issues with hosting either, and the best in support)

[n2ize]

How about QTH.com? I have been using QTH.com for hosting, and never had an issue with e-mail. I saw 'encryption' under email on my control panel. Not free, $1 a month is a small price to pay, no ads, and choice of web mail clients as well as all the email download options.

(never had issues with hosting either, and the best in support)
I don't mind spending a small fee for email service. I want my emails to be free of any ads.

[n2ize]

I'd go with the gmail option.

Speaking as a person who had his own mail server for 13 years, it's setup the closest to how I would configure my own mail service.

The ads don't bother me. It's been rock solid as a platform... and the two factor auth is really nice with a smartphone.

If there's something better, I do not know about it... so look at other suggestions carefully. Others might know things I don't.
I already have one Gmail account. Since I don't care for webmail I use Thunderbird as my email client. It's working well. Only change was that I recently had to switch protocols from POP3 to imap.

[WZ7U]

Been on Hotmail since the dawn of time. Ad blocker works great. Never had a problem with it that I am aware of. YMMV

[N1LAF]

Saw this today...

"The advance allows Google to determine how many sales have been generated by digital ad campaigns, a goal that industry insiders have long described as “the holy grail” of online advertising. But the announcement also renewed long-standing privacy complaints about how the company uses personal information.

To power its multi-billion dollar advertising juggernaut, Google already analyzes users’ web browsing, search history and geographic locations, using data from popular Google-owned apps like YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps and the Google Play store. All that information is tied to the real identities of users when they log into Google’s services.

The new credit card data enables the tech giant to connect these digital trails to real-world purchase records in a far more extensive way than was possible before. But in doing so, Google is yet again treading in territory that consumers may consider too intimate and potentially sensitive. "

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/05/23/google-now-knows-when-you-are-at-a-cash-register-and-how-much-you-are-spending/?utm_term=.03d71b3f0f4b

[N1LAF]

I don't mind spending a small fee for email service. I want my emails to be free of any ads.

QTH.com supports both SSL and non-SSL POP3/IMAP/SMTP

No ads, and has multiple methods of SPAM control, which works very well. More on this here: https://hosting.qth.com/knowledgebase/80/General-Spam-Filtering-Assistance.html

[n2ize]

QTH.com supports both SSL and non-SSL POP3/IMAP/SMTP

No ads, and has multiple methods of SPAM control, which works very well. More on this here: https://hosting.qth.com/knowledgebase/80/General-Spam-Filtering-Assistance.htmlThanks. I am going to seriously consider going this route.

[WA4GSD]

Well, finally got my notice from Verizon.
June 23, it's gone.. for me.

XYL is probably going to try AOL mail, I'm working on converting to gmail.
They all data-mine all the time so not sure what the point is any more unless you're encrypting everything... but I can say gmail has just 'worked' reliably... trying to work with VZ tech support is horrible and may have to do it one more time to get one of the XYL's accounts corrected.

Wish me luck.

[W3WN]

I've had the verizon email addresses prior to us buying the house... close to 14 years. So I'm going to keep them, just because so many things over the years are tied to them.

That said, I'm also looking at alternatives. If I can find something I like (and I will look into QTH.COM amongst others), I'll switch my "primary" email to that, and just keep the Verizon emails for bills, notices, and things like that.

[WØTKX]

Been on Hotmail since the dawn of time. Ad blocker works great. Never had a problem with it that I am aware of. YMMV

Same here, Hotmail since the modem dayz and Winders 3.1.

I have Yahoo; hacked, with a probable vector of a banned troll here, as well as the massive Russian compromise.
This was my go to ham radio email. I still get feeds from Yahoo groups and the Ten Tec reflector there.
Don't send shit from there, ever, going on two years now. Due to this, the spam is quite small.

Gmail; never hacked (phishing attempts made and deflected), massive news junkie feeds and some family stuff.
Pretty careful about what I do on the web, I get very little advertising spam here. Even with the news feeds.

Outlook.com, AKA Hotmail; this has been the best all along. For all the years, the amount of spam is pretty small.
I don't love Microsoft, but I have found them to be effective with many things, including phishing reports.

As a Microsoft 365 subscriber for my wife and I, the Outlook client software is really good.
I run work and personal accounts there with separate folders and authentication.

YMMV, of course. Just don't get the "I hate" Microsoft or Google or Apple, etc. nonsense.
Just pay attention, learn the strength and weaknesses, and keep on keepin on.

:scratch_head:

[n2ize]

I've had the verizon email addresses prior to us buying the house... close to 14 years. So I'm going to keep them, just because so many things over the years are tied to them.

That said, I'm also looking at alternatives. If I can find something I like (and I will look into QTH.COM amongst others), I'll switch my "primary" email to that, and just keep the Verizon emails for bills, notices, and things like that.Yep, I'm going to do something along those same lines,

[KJ3N]

I got the notice for one email address yesterday, and another notice for another address today. Both have now been converted over to AOL, while keeping the "verizon.net" addresses.

My only hope is that AOL's spam filters actually work. Verizon's never did.

[KJ3N]

My only hope is that AOL's spam filters actually work. Verizon's never did.

Day 2 after the switch and still zero spam via Thunderbird. If I go to the web interface (which I rarely do), I can see the spam folder filling up, but it doesn't get passed on to my email client.

Verizon's spam filtering had to have been turned off (more likely never implemented) from the beginning. Fuckers... :angry:

[KD8TUT]

The scary thing is I've got an old Yahoo account (unused)... and apparently they sold their mail operation to Verizon... which means Yahoo mail is now AOL mail.

Shiver.

[n6hcm]

which means Yahoo mail is now AOL mail.

well, yeah and no ... Yahoo! mail isn't going to be hosted on the AOL mail platform. is this a good thing? who can say ...

[KG4CGC]

well, yeah and no ... Yahoo! mail isn't going to be hosted on the AOL mail platform. is this a good thing? who can say ...

People rag on AOL but it's more secure than Yahoo!. More secure by leaps and bounds. Outlook.com is top notch for a free email account. It would be pretty damn good even if it was a pay service.

[n2ize]

I think I am going to keep my present verizon email accounts as is, regardless of whether they are hosted on AOL. Then I'll gradually switch to new email provider(s) on my own time,