Workshop: Save messages stored in webmail accounts

Webmail emails are stored online ­ – we show you how to save a copy at home

Webmail services such as Hotmail, Google Mail (Gmail) and Yahoo Mail provide email access via a web page.

This makes it easy to access a webmail account from any PC that’s connected to the internet by signing in with a username and password. Messages aren’t stored on the local computer, which is good for privacy on shared PCs, but this means keeping a backup can be tricky. The secret is to get an email program, such as Outlook Express or Windows Mail, to download the messages and create a backup copy.

Some providers make this relatively easy, you just need to change their settings, while others may need some additional software to encourage them to work with Outlook Express and Windows Mail.
Either way, here’s how to make a backup of your messages.

How to back up webmail.