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Ask Slashdot: Secure, Yet Accessible E-mail Archive Storage?
New submitter mlts writes: As of now, I just leave E-mail in a 'received-2015' subfolder on my provider's server, adding a new folder yearly. With the rise of E-mail account intrusions (where even though I'm likely not a primary target, but it is a concern), what is a secure, but yet accessible way to archive E-mail? I'm far less worried about the FBI/NSA/Illuminati, as I am about having stuff divulged to all and sundry if a mass breach happens. A few alternative I've considered: 1) Running my own physical IMAP server. The server would run on a hypervisor (likely ESXi), have Dovecot limited to the VPN I use, and use other sane techniques to limit access. 2) Archive the E-mail files through a cloud provider, with a client encryption utility (EncFS, BoxCryptor, etc.) In this case, E-mail would be stored in a different file a week. 3) Move it to local storage on a virtual machine, and if access is needed, use LogMeIn or another remote access item to fire up Thunderbird to access it. What would be a recommended way to secure E-mail that sits around, for the long haul, but still have it accessible? Even if you're not specifically worried about it, keeping older email around on a provider's server opens you up to warrantless access by U.S. law enforcement officials.
All that said, why are you keeping it all?
A better question is "Why delete it?" Keeping it involves near zero effort and near zero cost. If deciding what to delete takes more than a few seconds, it is not cost effective. I have every email I have sent or received for the last 30 years (except for spam) and it fits in 10 cents worth of storage. Even if you count backups and redundant copies, it is under $1. My archive has come in handy many times, including helping a third party dismiss a $150,000 lawsuit from a patent troll by documenting prior art. That was worth $1.