How To: Hack Gmail | Maximum PC

Rated by Sebaldus on Sep 20 2007, 9:51pm

Urk, they hackers.... Tired of stingy ISPs imposing arbitrary email restrictions on you? Yeah, so are we. 1MB attachment limits, 25MB storage limits, and restricted SMTP servers are sooo 1997. For a 21st-Century mail experience, step up to Gmail. We know what you're thinking: Webmail is webmail. But with 2.7GB of storage, 10MB attachment allowances, and an array of easy hacks that let you customize your mail account in almost any way you like, Gmail may be the most powerful e-mail tool the world has ever known. But enough of our yammering. Here's how to turn your Gmail account into a messaging dynamo, and more. 1. Use Gmail as an Online Storage Vault Need to keep important files handy? You don't necessarily have to shell out 100 bucks for a high-capacity thumb drive. Instead, use Gmail's free 2.7GB of storage as an off-site backup for the files you need access to. The easiest way is to simply attach your file to an email and shoot it to your Gmail account. Then you can retrieve it at any time just by logging in and running a quick search of your inbox. Of course, Gmail's 10MB attachment limit means you won't be able to archive massive documents. But it's a great way keep your most essential files handy wherever there's an Internet connection. To take even greater advantage of Gmail's free storage space, you'll need to download a helper app. Firefox users can download Gmail Space from Mozilla's Firefox Add-ons library, which turns the web browser into an easy-to-use file explorer. The extension lets you drag and drop files directly into Gmail's storage space, without having to worry about the attachment size limit. Alternatively, you can download Gmail Drive Shell Extension (free) for more