You can rename your account after you upgrade by going to the Options screen and clicking the Rename link. See our pricing table for the length limits of usernames for each service level.
All FastMail.FM accounts receive Basic spam filtering, in which senders known for spamming are blocked automatically. However, FastMail.FM also offers more advanced spam filtering for Full and Enhanced accounts. This advanced spam filtering uses SpamAssassin, a highly accurate, Open Source email spam filter. With the SpamAssassin-based filter, 95% of the spam you received will be detected and blocked. However, because of the customization options, you will also have the confidence that you are in control of your email.
You will have control over whether spam is discarded before ever being delivered to your mailbox or merely placed in a special Junk Mail folder. You can set the sensitivity of your filter separately for three possible levels of likely spam. Or you can choose to only accept messages from your "white list:" addresses already in your Address Book.
In addition to advanced spam filtering, upgrading to a Full account gives you an increased amount of storage space for both your messages and files, access to your FastMail.FM account via POP, and up to three different aliases to keep your work, personal, and hobby email separate. All for only $19.95 / year.
For more information on the features available with a Full or Enhanced account, see our complete service level comparison . To upgrade your account, simply select the Upgrade/Downgrade link from the Options screen.
Here's a set of questions that might help you decide what you want to do. Remember, you can always start as a guest for free, and upgrade later:
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Do you use only the web interface, or do you access your email at home as well using an email client (eg Outlook Express/Eudora/Netscape/etc)?
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Web only: All users get web access. Go to 5
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Access at home as well: May need to upgrade. Continue
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Do you read email at home using an email client (Outlook Express/Netscape/Eudora/etc) using POP or IMAP? (see POP, IMAP, and SMTP for the differences)
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POP: Only "Full" and "Enhanced" accounts get POP access. Change to IMAP or upgrade. Continue
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IMAP: All users get IMAP access. Continue
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Do you send emails from home using an email client via fastmail.fm (e. g. SMTP)?
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Yes: Only "Ad free" and above get SMTP access. Either change to using your ISP's SMTP server, or upgrade to at least Ad free level. Continue
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No: Continue
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Do you send/receive emails with lots of attachments?
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Yes: Guest accounts only allowed 40MB of bandwidth a month; recommend you upgrade. See 'Quota Usage' screen for how much bandwidth you used last month. Continue
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No: Probably don't need extra bandwidth, even Guest is fine. Continue
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Do you mind tag lines being added to the end of all emails?
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Yes: Need to upgrade to at least Ad free level. Continue
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No: Continue (Guests have tag lines appended to all sent emails)
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Do you store a significant amount of email, or keep your usage low?
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Store lots: You might need extra quota space in the future. Have to upgrade to at least Ad free level. Continue
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Don't store: Guests get generous 10MB of space. Continue
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Do you use any extra features: Aliases, Virtual Domains, Custom Filter Rules, Extra Send From Addresses, etc.?
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Yes: See the pricing table to work out appropriate level
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No: Continue
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Do you need to receive attachments from mailing lists?
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Yes: Need to upgrade to at least Ad free level to receive emails from mailing lists with attachments. Remember, attachments use bandwidth quickly, so see 'Quota Usage' screen for how much bandwidth you used last month and upgrade as appropriate given bandwidth limits shown in the pricing table
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No: Continue
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Do you need to use your account for commercial use?
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Yes: Need to upgrade to at least Ad free level
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No: Don't need higher than what you've worked out so far
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