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1. Have your own domain name. You can change provider from Z to Y at the flash a DNS record gets updated. Email is designed as a federated service, but to be

by zhte415 10y ago

1. Have your own domain name. You can change provider from Z to Y at the flash a DNS record gets updated. Email is designed as a federated service, but to be so your email _address_ needs to be too. 2. For files, use a cloud solution and have 2-3 computers updating their local copy (home PC, work PC, phone, small Pi box acting as server). I have a Digital Ocean box running ownCloud, soon to change to nextCloud. Put your code or next essay on Git. 3. Don't trust any service provider, especially if they're not dependent on explicit income. You can still have everything in one place, but that place is many places at the same time. 4. Don't store what you don't need to. Complication and confusion also comes from hording. Don't need it? Delete it, and be assured it is completely deleted.

ocdtrekkie 10y ago
Point one here is the BIGGEST. If you do nothing else, own your domain name, and forward mail to a service provider of your choice. In my case, I made my new email address forward to Gmail, and then started changing everything over to use my new address. Then, when I moved providers to FastMail, all I really had to do was re-point my domain name. Even if for some reason I lost my FastMail (pretty unlikely), I'd just repoint my domain to a new mail service, and I could easily recover all my other accounts. And of course, my email archive is backed up locally, so there's no risk of losing that.
- chimprich 10y ago
  > If you do nothing else, own your domain name, and forward mail to a service provider of your choice. Even this may not be sufficient. I had a domain name registered through my ISP (UKFSN). At some point I had a disagreement about payment with my ISP, who refused to discuss it. Instead of replying to my messages, they disabled all my domain records and my emails started bouncing. I think this was illegal (and eventually I forced an apology and compensation out of them - long story). Anyway, I would recommend only having a domain name registered through a dedicated registrar who you are not using for any other services.
  - ocdtrekkie 10y ago
    This is good advice too. I actually have my domain name and web hosting through different companies, particularly for this reason, if I have service issues or something with my web host, I wanna make sure I can switch web hosts or threaten them with the wrath of God or something, without worrying about my domains.
hellofunk 10y ago
Don't forget about the guy whose twitter account was stolen because a hacker got access to his email _because_ the weak link was a custom domain and poor security at Godaddy. The domain was hacked, giving the attacker full access to email, and therefore ability to change passwords, transfer ownership of a prized twitter account and more. It has been discussed here quite a bit. The folks that answer phones at domain registrars don't usually have adequate training and social engineering is common.
- kuschku 10y ago
  Then don't trust a registrar. Get a domain directly through a NIC that offers that directly.
  - hellofunk 10y ago
    Can you recommend one? I've never heard of this.
    - hellweaver666 10y ago
      Many NIC's support this but they aren't really setup to handle individuals (they prefer resellers do that) expect to pay a lot more for the privilege. You can usually find the Registrar by just going to nic.tld (e.g. http://nic.io/ http://nic.io/)
- nilved 10y ago
  Your email is always the keys to the kingdom, but I trust Gandi a lot more than I trust Google. GoDaddy is probably the worst choice someone could make. 2FA is mandatory for email and domains.
pmyjavec 10y ago
Next cloud looks good, cheers
dom96 10y ago
I foresee a slight chicken and egg problem here. Registering a domain requires an email address, so it seems that I would need a third-party email address anyway.
- zhte415 10y ago
  Bootstrap and go from there.
VyseofArcadia 10y ago
> ownCloud, soon to change to nextCloud Why the switch? A quick look at both hasn't resulted in a clear winner in my mind.
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  The founder and most of the development community has moved to NextCloud. ownCloud is mostly the old corporate people maintaining status quo, from what I understand.

by zhte415 10y ago

ocdtrekkie 10y ago

Point one here is the BIGGEST. If you do nothing else, own your domain name, and forward mail to a service provider of your choice. In my case, I made my new email address forward to Gmail, and then started changing everything over to use my new address. Then, when I moved providers to FastMail, all I really had to do was re-point my domain name. Even if for some reason I lost my FastMail (pretty unlikely), I'd just repoint my domain to a new mail service, and I could easily recover all my other accounts. And of course, my email archive is backed up locally, so there's no risk of losing that.

chimprich 10y ago
> If you do nothing else, own your domain name, and forward mail to a service provider of your choice. Even this may not be sufficient. I had a domain name registered through my ISP (UKFSN). At some point I had a disagreement about payment with my ISP, who refused to discuss it. Instead of replying to my messages, they disabled all my domain records and my emails started bouncing. I think this was illegal (and eventually I forced an apology and compensation out of them - long story). Anyway, I would recommend only having a domain name registered through a dedicated registrar who you are not using for any other services.
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  This is good advice too. I actually have my domain name and web hosting through different companies, particularly for this reason, if I have service issues or something with my web host, I wanna make sure I can switch web hosts or threaten them with the wrath of God or something, without worrying about my domains.

hellofunk 10y ago

Don't forget about the guy whose twitter account was stolen because a hacker got access to his email _because_ the weak link was a custom domain and poor security at Godaddy. The domain was hacked, giving the attacker full access to email, and therefore ability to change passwords, transfer ownership of a prized twitter account and more. It has been discussed here quite a bit. The folks that answer phones at domain registrars don't usually have adequate training and social engineering is common.

kuschku 10y ago
Then don't trust a registrar. Get a domain directly through a NIC that offers that directly.
- hellofunk 10y ago
  Can you recommend one? I've never heard of this.
  - hellweaver666 10y ago
    Many NIC's support this but they aren't really setup to handle individuals (they prefer resellers do that) expect to pay a lot more for the privilege. You can usually find the Registrar by just going to nic.tld (e.g. http://nic.io/ http://nic.io/)
nilved 10y ago
Your email is always the keys to the kingdom, but I trust Gandi a lot more than I trust Google. GoDaddy is probably the worst choice someone could make. 2FA is mandatory for email and domains.

pmyjavec 10y ago

Next cloud looks good, cheers

dom96 10y ago

I foresee a slight chicken and egg problem here. Registering a domain requires an email address, so it seems that I would need a third-party email address anyway.

zhte415 10y ago
Bootstrap and go from there.

VyseofArcadia 10y ago

> ownCloud, soon to change to nextCloud Why the switch? A quick look at both hasn't resulted in a clear winner in my mind.

ocdtrekkie 10y ago
The founder and most of the development community has moved to NextCloud. ownCloud is mostly the old corporate people maintaining status quo, from what I understand.