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Ask Slashdot: Recommendations For Non-US Based Email Providers?

Posted by timothy on from the lesser-of-evils dept.

First time accepted submitter jlnance writes "I don't particularly like the NSA looking over my shoulder. As the scope of its various data gathering programs comes to light, it is apparent to me that the only way to avoid being watched is to use servers based in countries which are unlikely to respond to US requests for information. I realize I am trading surveillance by the NSA for surveillance by the KGB or equivalent, but I'm less troubled by that. I searched briefly for services similar to ymail or gmail which are not hosted in the US. I didn't come up with much. Surely they exist? What are your experiences with this?"

6 of 410 comments (clear)

  1. Not sure I understand the question. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actual communication security implies point-to-point security. In such a setting, a third-party service doesn't make any sense. Hence either what you're look for can't exist, or you won't know if it's secure.

    1. Re:Not sure I understand the question. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You would have to lease space in a datacenter, buy a domain, setup VPN, use securelinux (though probably not since it was written by the NSA) or solaris, run a VM inside that, always do a restore before accessing email and read through the tens of thousands of lines of code to delete out anything that MAY compromise your security (best use open source in this case). Also you will have to ensure that everyone you email is doing the same thing. So you may want to start mandating that everyone you email use your domain, but since it will b so expensie you should probably charge for it to at a minimum off set costs. Though you should probably charge enough to ensure that you can afford to quit your current job to do full time maintenance.

      After all that, probably be best you find a neutral country that has no agreements with the US and will refuse to work with it.

      But good luck!

  2. Roll your own... by flogger · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My email server is sitting in my laundry room. I also host some message forums and picture galleries for just my family and friends. It is how I communicate with them.

    Only about 1/3 of my family and friends use my server for email.... So any over seas email service is going to have the same limitation as mine. If I email my sister from my server, that email goes to gmail. So now the NSA knows what I sent to my sister.

    So unless everyone you communicate with is outside of the US or on a server outside of NSA's reach, it won;t do any good.

    Sorry to break it to you, but in the war against terror, the American people have lost.

    --
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
    -- The Doctor, "Doctor
  3. Re:KGB better than NSA? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As a US citizen, I sure as hell would prefer the KGB looking over my shoulder. the chance that it has any kind of impact on my life is far lower.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  4. Wrong Question by ocularsinister · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What you should be asking is "How do I get everyone to sign and encrypt their emails as a matter of course?"

  5. That won't work: 1and1 has management in the US. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1and1.com is a US-based company, or has management staff in the United States, so that won't work.

    This is what I understand:
    1) The U.S. government can force any company to do anything it wants.
    2) The U.S. government can demand that the company keep that secret.
    3) The U.S. government can put a U.S. employee in prison if 1 and 2 are not followed.

    Seems to me to be a vicious, anti-democratic government.