Advantages

• Emails are delivered extremely fast when compared to traditional post.
• Emails can be sent 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Webmail means emails can be sent and received from any computer, anywhere in the world, that has an internet connection.
• Cheap - when using broadband, each email sent is effectively free. Dial-up users are charged at local call rates but it only takes a few seconds (for conventional email, eg text only) to send an email.
• Emails can be sent to one person or several people.

Disadvantages

• The recipient needs access to the internet to receive email.
• Viruses are easily spread via email attachments (most email providers scan emails for viruses on your behalf).
• Phishing - sending an email to a user falsely claiming to be a legitimate company to scam the user into providing information, such as personal information and bank account numbers on a bogus website. The details will then be used for identity theft.
• No guarantee the mail will be read until the user logs on and checks their email.
• Spam - unsolicited email, ie junk mail.