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title: "Treat your email right. Kat-arena" |
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mobile_menu_title: "Treat your email right" |
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date: 2022-06-30 |
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Author: "Katerina" |
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description: "Kat-arena is trying to make sure her major internet identification, the email, is secured nicely. but getting rid of spam for free is not that easy." |
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series: [ "Kat-arena" ] |
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categories: [ "software", "privacy" ] |
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tags: [ "email", "privacy", "tracking", "Free Open Source Software", "FOSS" ] |
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news_keywords: [ "email", "privacy", "tracking", "Free Open Source Software", "FOSS", "webmail", "webmail system" ] |
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--- |
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# Treat your email right |
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|
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Email was born as a more convenient and rapid way to exchange messages |
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in an attempt to replace physical letters. |
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Indeed, this is what has happened in the 50 years that passed since its inception. |
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Nowadays email is considered an absolute basic communication medium. |
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It is required for accessing almost any digital, and sometimes physical, service |
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(even the dentist asked for my email address!). |
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As such, an email address may convey more personal details than a physical one. |
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So, today seems like a good time to update your email safety. |
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Your email address is split in 3 major parts |
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(as specified by [RFC-5322](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5322#section-3.4.1)): |
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|
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```goat { width=400 height=240 } |
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.-------------------------. .-----------. |
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|username (the local-part)| |Domain name| |
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'---+---------------------' '-+---------' |
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\ / |
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\ / |
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username @ domain.com |
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| |
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| |
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.--------+----------. |
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|at-sign separates | |
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|username and domain| |
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'-------------------' |
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``` |
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Usually the domain name conveys information about your affiliation or your email |
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service provider. |
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Having multiple emails, unaffiliated with a company, |
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is a common way to protect your digital privacy, improve decentralization |
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of the Internet, and help confining and reducing spam. |
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To put it in Lorenzo Cogotti's words: |
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> The strategy works by making it harder to associate different services' |
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> subscriptions together by a single email address, reducing the chance to |
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> track you. Keep in mind though, that other information may still be used |
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> to link them together (e.g. there's still your phone number). |
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|
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## Some basic tips |
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Let's cover some basics on how you can improve your safety even with |
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non Free and Open Source (FOSS) email solutions. |
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* To minimize tracking, don't open your inbox inside a browser |
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(**webmail** **client**), prefer installing specific software |
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(**mail client**, **email reader**). |
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Otherwise, the safety of the inbox contents is in the hand of the browser |
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as much as the email provider. |
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* Avoid sending "heavy" files or any important document via email. |
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The first ones have a high chance of never reaching the recipient due to |
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attachment filters. While the other ones may be scanned automatically by your |
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email service provider or accessed in case your email password's leaked. |
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Some alternatives are, for example, file-sharing platforms with restricted |
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access or actual physical devices. |
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* Use different accounts for social media authorization, |
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e-commerce and subscription services. Do not share this email anywhere. |
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The same goes for deliveries. |
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* For any suspicious website or one-time promo solutions, |
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consider an auto-generated email with an automatic verification function |
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(below). |
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This won't be enough to ensure you won't receive spam. |
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In practice, we have to accept nothing on the Internet can guarantee you a 100% |
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spam-free life, unless you use services expressly designed to fight spam and |
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promo emails. However, it will make the lives of those who are trying to |
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reach you, for this reason, a bit more complicated. |
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|
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## What about email service providers? |
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This partially settles the problem with other services using email addresses to track us, |
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but what if we suspect **the email service provider** is the one scanning us? |
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Probably, the best bet would be configuring your own mail server. |
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Unfortunately, it cannot be considered gratis or easy, but if you are a |
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business owner or an enthusiast it may be viable. |
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Creating a domain is not enough, as managing emails needs storage space |
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on a server. Which practically means buying a piece of hardware. |
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Prices range from 30 to several thousands euros, with the basic options being |
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a good solution for small initiatives and individuals. |
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For some business owners, the hardware price and the increase in energy bills |
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may justify renting a server. |
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Though, running it still requires advanced knowledge and maintenance. |
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The average user may look for simpler solutions, like relying on existing |
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servers provided by dependable mail service providers. |
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Surely, it is not that easy. |
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Let's introduce a sad fact about our world. |
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> Nothing is gratis. |
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As we have just seen, running a mail hosting server is not trivial. |
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It involves expensive hardware, complex knowledge, storage space, |
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disaster recovery plans, web traffic distribution and Internet domain management, |
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to name a few, - so, it is naïve to expect it all free of charge. |
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In fact, it is not. |
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Even when there is no subscription fee, one should look for a more complex one. |
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Most "gratis" mail services actively track their users' data, |
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for further monetization, such as targeted advertising. |
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In other words, some mail servers may scan your emails or share the history of |
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your message with third parties and governments. |
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This practice is not considered illegal, as some of this data is |
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not regarded as personal or sensitive. |
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Plus, a user should be aware of everything as they are always welcome to read |
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the 20+ pages of Privacy Notice to understand how their data is treated |
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(and do not forget to check yearly privacy updates timely). |
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Additionally, big famous mail servers are the most popular targets of attacks |
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and consequent password leaks, plus their email addresses are easier to guess. |
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As for smaller ones, if you are unsure where to look, it is not obvious to |
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avoid third-party involvement and ensure data safety. |
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For example, numerous services still use ReCaptcha, a service by Google |
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(the existential "I am not a robot" thing). |
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So, it is important to stay informed and make sure you understand how the |
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service treats your data and who can access it. |
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The [Free Software Foundation](https://www.fsf.org/resources/webmail-systems) provides some interesting insights on the subject. |
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Stay informed, and stay safe! |
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Katerina |
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