Reliable mail. How to choose a mail service
Hello, dear readers of my blog! We all know from personal experience that you can’t do without email on the Internet, I’m sure. It is needed for both entertainment and work. Most people have acquired smartphones a long time ago, and to download some Android applications, you need to log in. With using what? Via email!
Or VKontakte, or on any site - please, just enter your email. You found some interesting blog and don’t want to miss anything interesting, then subscribe to the newsletter and receive letters to your inbox - electronic, of course. In general, these days, you can’t live without mail!
But the contents of your mailbox may be of interest not only to you, but also to complete strangers, hackers, for example, and many others. Thanks to this article, you will be able to choose the most secure email, and also learn (or remember) about basic and mandatory security measures. Now, having analyzed the most popular services on the network, we will find out which mailbox is the most reliable.
Mail.ru
At the moment, this platform is inferior in popularity to its rivals Yandex. Mail and Gmail, but still remains one of the most frequently chosen services. Let's see what methods of protection she has.
I would like to clarify right away that you can turn on or turn off all the services described below (some of them are inconvenient for me personally).
First: prohibition of parallel sessions - only one person can use mail at a time. Why might this be inconvenient? Because you yourself can access mail from two or more different devices at the same time, the situations are different.
Second: information about the last login is available - date, time, IP address. This feature will definitely not hurt you.
Third: the ability to log into the mailbox from only one IP address - if there is an attempt to log in from another, the user will be directed to authorization. This function is not suitable for me at all, because I use mail on several devices. Yes, and there were cases when I urgently needed to check my email and I logged in from other people’s computers.
Fourth: saving recent actions - you can see information about logging in, sending or deleting a letter, etc. There are no complaints here.
In addition, you can use two-factor authentication - this is a login with confirmation. If you activate this service, then when you log in you will need to enter not only your login and password (you can read about that in another publication), but also various one-time codes that will be sent by SMS to your phone.
Everything seems to be fine, but statistics show the opposite - mail.ru mailboxes are hacked more often than others.
Yandex Mail
Now let’s look at another popular service in RuNet from the Yandex search engine.
All letters here are scanned by an antivirus program and if an infected file is detected, the letter will be automatically deleted. Also, Yandex. The mail checks pages for malicious code and if a link from a received letter raises suspicions, you will be sent a warning.
There is a useful function “Sign out on all devices”. If you logged into your mailbox from someone else's computer and forgot to log out, it is very useful. It can also be useful if you were hacked, but did not have time to change your password. In this case, change it immediately.
Like the previous mailer, this one has a visit log. Here it is better, because here it is not just the last actions that are saved, but the last 2000 actions; you are unlikely to carry out that many in one day; it will take about a week.
In addition, Yandex. The post office marks those letters that it considers fraudulent, which is also a definite plus. You can link an additional mailbox or phone number to your account and, thanks to this, you will be able to recover your password and receive various alerts.
Yandex. Mail uses only the HTTPS protocol, which means your personal data is confidential and protected, as it will be sent to the server encrypted.
Gmail
To recover your password, you also use the linking of an additional email and phone number. You can also enable two-step authentication to receive a code to enter the mailbox every time.
Gmail uses encryption at the transport layer, but its power is not unlimited - not all incoming messages (if the sender uses another service) are encrypted.
Your mailbox displays the latest actions: information about simultaneous sessions - where else you were logged in (you can log out of all sessions by clicking on the corresponding button), there will also be information about the type of access (browsers, devices, etc. from which logged in) and about the IP address.
Helpfully, Gmail sends alerts about suspicious activity.
For example, if someone regularly logs into your inbox from Singapore. To protect its customers from scammers and spam, Google uses email authentication - it checks whether the letter really came from the person indicated by the sender.
As an addition, it is proposed to enable the “Verified message icon” function - senders will be checked. This function is very useful, but there is one “but” - it only works for a few domains, and not all of them can be checked. I would still recommend connecting it, it certainly won’t hurt.
Thus, for 2017, I would call Gmail the best mailbox. He was able to convince me that I would be protected from hacking, scammers and hackers.
But you must not forget that your safety is in your hands. so that no one can pick it up and use different passwords on sites! If you are afraid that you will forget any of them, you can use the program Roboform . It will remember all your passwords and store them securely; you only need to remember your Roboform login information. Here you can generate a password if your imagination has already run out.
Be aware of antivirus programs, e.g. Eset Nod32 . Regularly scan your computer for infected files.
And of course, be more attentive to the people with whom you correspond on the Internet. Do not disclose any important information about yourself to a suspicious or unfamiliar person. He may turn out to be a fraud.
If you follow these basic rules, you will be safe! So, now you know which mailbox is best to use and what you need to do to protect your personal data. If you liked this article, recommend it to your friends and subscribe to my public VK . I wish you all the best!
2017 is already behind us, but the hunt for the most reliable and best email service continues in 2018.
In this article about anonymity, I will tell you about the five most reliable email services. Everything stated below is my subjective opinion, based on my experience and the experience of my friends who live on all sorts of underground forums.
Outsiders are safe
Services like Gmail, Hotmail (Outlook) or Yahoo are easy to use, but do they protect your privacy? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
Yahoo developed special software for the National Security Agency (NSA) so that the agency could secretly check users' emails. Google admitted in court that it reads users' emails. Well, as far as Microsoft is concerned, it's even worse. She was so generous that she helped the NSA monitor Hotmail, Skype and Outlook users as part of Project PRISM.
What are the criteria for choosing reliable mail?
Reliability is determined by the following factors: 1. Protection of mail from hacking and interception by third parties. 2. Confidentiality - protecting information from the developers themselves. 3. Refusal of developers to cooperate with intelligence agencies.
All the services discussed in the review meet all of the above requirements. At least that's what they claim.
1. ProtonMail. Personally, I use this service. Let's start with ProtonMail. Based in Switzerland, the secure email service ProtonMail is at the top of my list as the company already has a lot of experience and a good name in providing a secure platform to users, especially journalists interested in a high level of privacy.
ProtonMail uses end-to-end encryption, which means sent messages will be encrypted and only the recipient with the private decryption keys will be able to open and read the message.
In addition, the company offers a free VPN service, Proton VPN, for Android, iOS, MacOS and Windows platforms to combat Internet censorship, allowing you to bypass restrictions and gain access to blocked sites. ProtonMail also provides the world's first encrypted contact manager "ProtonMail Contacts", which aims to protect user data with encryption and digital signature features.
ProtonMail can be used on your smartphone by installing the iOS and Android apps. There is also a Russian interface.
Additional features of ProtonMail:
End-to-end encryption. Zero access to user data. Open source cryptography. Self-deleting messages. Applications for Android and iOS. Two-factor authentication.
2. Mailfence. Mailfence is a free and encrypting email service launched in 2013 by the Belgian company ContactOffice. Like ProtonMail, Mailfence was launched in the wake of the Snowden/NSA story and offers end-to-end OpenPGP-based encryption that ensures that messages sent and received between the user and the recipient cannot be read by anyone else.
Belgium has strict privacy laws. According to Belgian law, all national and international supervisory requests must go through a Belgian court.
A big disadvantage for our people will be the lack of a Russian interface.
Additional features of Mailfence:
3. CounterMail. Swiss-based CoutnerMail is also a renowned secure email service that provides end-to-end encryption, making it impossible for hackers to read your email. Additionally, CoutnerMail has over 4,000 types of encryption keys.
In addition, the company does not store email data on the server or hard drives. This means that attackers will not be able to track emails, so data leakage is out of the question.
CounterMail also guarantees protection from government data surveillance. One of the disadvantages of mail is that it does not allow you to send encrypted emails to other users, however users can communicate with any other OpenPGP compatible email user anywhere in the world.
Also, a big disadvantage for our people will be the lack of a Russian interface.
Additional features of CounterMail: -Comprehensive security. -Diskless web servers. -USB dongle option. -Protection against MITM (man in the middle) attacks. -Applications for Android and iOS.
4. Tutanota. Based in Germany, Tutanota Secure Email provides an open source, end-to-end encrypted email and freemium-based secure email service that is designed to protect user communications.
Because Tutanota is based on an open source model, its development is faster than many other similar services.
The company also offers paid packages, but regardless of the package you choose, Tutanota encrypts all messages you send or receive from others. Last March, Tutanota announced that the company had more than 2 million active users.
Tutanota has a Russian interface.
Additional features of Tutanota:
End-to-end encryption. Open source. Applications for Android and iOS. Users can send and receive encrypted messages from regular email users.
5. Posteo. Posteo is an encrypted email service in German. The service has various packages. For the basic package, customers will have to pay 1Euro per month. This basic package includes access to some of the service's most important features, such as POP3 and IMAP support.
Which mail is the best and safest? Today it is simply impossible to be negligent in the security of data transmission, especially when it comes to confidential personal or professional information. Your email can be hacked, but the risks can be minimized if you know how to correctly create passwords and use reliable services. Which mail is the most reliable and secure? Let's look at several email services, taking into account their features, advantages and disadvantages, and also talk about security rules that will protect your data from theft.
The most secure mail: rating
Let's move on to looking at specific email clients. What is the most secure email on the Internet? It is quite difficult to compile a rating, because common services are usually not well protected from hacking. The most reliable are foreign services; users especially highlight Swiss and German email clients. If you choose between popular and Russian-language options (Yandex.Mail, Mail.ru, Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo), then it is better to choose Gmail, but even there the encryption is far from ideal. Therefore, you additionally need to think about the security of your email password.
The most secure mail, according to many users from all over the world, is the Swiss service Proton Mail. However, when registering, confirmation is required from a phone number or a spare email address. The developers assure that they will not save this data, but you should play it safe by using a virtual number or other email where you do not need to provide such data when registering. Next in the ranking are Mailfence, ConterMail, Tutanota, Posteo, VauletMail, and so on.
Common Mail.ru and Yandex.Mail
It is not advisable to use Mail.ru and Yandex.Mail for work correspondence and receiving/sending important documents, but these services are quite suitable for personal mail. You can use these email clients to read news and newsletters, but do not link e-wallets (except Yandex.Money), websites or hosting to them. These services are not included in the ranking of the safest email services at all.
Gmail: The Most Popular Email
Of the “regular” (that is, common and popular on the Russian-speaking Internet) email clients, the most secure is Gmail. There is an account link to a phone number, as well as two-step authentication. If you try to access your mail from a different geographic address or even from a different browser, then even after entering the password correctly, you will need to confirm your identity and rights to use the email address from the phone that was linked to your account during registration. At the moment, Gmail is called the most secure email even by many programmers.
Minor failures with authentication can sometimes occur, but the client is completely free, so users shouldn’t complain about it. In some cases, the code does not immediately arrive in the SMS message, but then a voice call arrives. You need to answer and listen to the code that the computer “tells”. The mailer is also quite good at skipping spam. Of course, the protection is not 100%, but if you mark a letter as spam once, the mailbox will automatically learn and in the future will send all messages from this recipient or with similar content to the appropriate folder. But in order not to miss an important letter, for example, an invitation to a webinar or useful free materials, it is worth adding the sender to the white list and checking the Spam folder from time to time.
Yahoo and Outlook Cooperation with the NSA
Email services such as Mail.ru, Yandex.Mail, Outlook, Yahoo and Gmail are relatively safe, but do not protect the privacy of their users well. It’s difficult to call these services the safest email services on the Internet. Yahoo, for example, has developed special software that allows the National Security Agency to secretly check the correspondence of individual users. Google admitted during the trial that it reads emails, and things are even worse with Microsoft. As part of the PRISM project, the corporation helped the NSA monitor users of Skype, Hotmail and Outlook.
Proton Mail: secure mail from Switzerland
The service was developed in 2013 in Switzerland by Proton Technologies; all servers are located there, which means that user data is protected by national laws. The idea belongs to Koltech and Harvard student Andy Yen. Swiss privacy is about ensuring maximum data security and neutrality towards users. The development company has extensive experience and has earned a good name; journalists interested in a high level of confidentiality especially like this most secure mail.
The mailer is designed with double encryption of user messages. All emails are encrypted and only the recipient has access codes. This means that the information will not fall into the hands of third parties. Proton is anonymous mail. To create an account, you need to enter personal data, but the service does not save it. Additionally, developers do not store any IP log records that may be associated with the recording. At the same time, no one complained about the data transfer speed. The service is open source. The developers claim that Proton will always be free. But those who wish can support the project with a voluntary donation or upgrade to a paid account. There are practically no differences between free and paid accounts. Mail works well and meets user expectations in any case.
Proton can be used on any device without the need to install additional software, but a stable internet connection is required. Accounts are compatible with other email clients. A nice bonus is a well-designed modern design and special optimization for high performance. Externally, the mail is somewhat reminiscent of Gmail, but it still looks very stylish and fresh. Reading, organizing and sending emails with Proton is very convenient, and Russian-speaking users can use the Russian-language interface, which makes using the client even easier.
Secure Email Mailfence
Which mail is the best and safest? The Mailfence service appeared in 2013 after the story about Edward Snowden and the NSA, which caused widespread public outcry. Open encryption is based on OpenPGP technology. This ensures that sent emails will not be read by anyone other than the sender or recipient of the message. In addition, thanks to IMAP or SMTP technologies, the user can access the account through any convenient email client.
The service works without advertising, you can connect Mailfence is fully compatible with OpenPGP, and also offers its users the latest anti-spam technologies and a sender blacklist. There is an integrated key storage. The only drawback for Russian-speaking users is the lack of a Russian-language interface.
Secure Swiss service CounterMail
What is the most secure email on the Internet? The Swiss service CounterMail also (like the previous two email clients) provides double encryption, which makes it impossible for third parties to access messages. The developers used more than 4 thousand types of keys to protect user data. The data is not stored on hard drives or servers, which means that attackers cannot monitor emails, meaning there is no leakage of confidential information.
CounterMail provides protection from government interference in your privacy. But one of the disadvantages of the email client is that encrypted emails cannot be sent to other users, but you can communicate with anyone who has an OpenPGP-compatible email. There is no Russian interface. But there is a USB key option, applications for Android and Apple, and MITM protection.
Tutanota with end-to-end encryption
Which email is the most secure? Tutanota mail from German developers encrypts letters with Security based on Freemium technology, which protects user correspondence. The development of the email client is happening faster than other services of this kind. The company also offers paid accounts for users. Currently, the mail service has more than two million active users.
Encrypted email service Posteo
What is the most secure email? Posteo is an encrypted email service in German. Postage is paid, for the basic package you need to pay one euro per month. This option enables access to POP3 and IMAP support. When registering, you do not need to provide personal information, so the level of confidentiality and personal security remains at a sufficient level. There are no ads, you can use mail on all devices. There's also a notes and calendar feature that integrates with other clients, attachments up to 50MB are supported, and 2GB of email storage is available initially but can be increased.
Desktop program VauletMail
Which mail is the most reliable and secure? The desktop program VauletMail encrypts user emails, but SpecialDelivery technology can be used to send messages to users of other email clients. VauletMail has many features. You can set the time when the letter will self-destruct or send messages from anonymous addresses. True, theoretically, a program installed on a PC, rather than a browser version, is more vulnerable if the computer is lost or becomes inoperable.
Enigmail plugin for email programs
Enigmail is an extension for "Mazila". There are similar plugins for other accounts. To get started, the corresponding extension must be installed in Thunderbird, and you will also need the GNU Privacy Guard program for the operating system. After installation is complete, a new menu with a setup wizard (OpenPGP) will appear in the extension.
With the help of the wizard, the setup process will be easy and fast. During setup, the user will create or import public and private keys to ensure the security of correspondence. By default, messages are signed only with an electronic signature, so that the recipient can identify the sender. To enable encryption, you need to select Encrypt This Message when writing a letter in the S\MIME section.
The setup procedure can be difficult because to start communication you need to exchange keys with the user. You can use the plugin in combination with other email services. Previously, it was possible to combine mail with Gmail, but now such a combination is no longer available to users.
Safe work rules
The most secure email will cease to be so if you do not follow the rules of safe work on the Internet. To maintain confidentiality for especially important letters, it is advisable to choose mail programs where personal data (telephone, other existing mailboxes) is not indicated during registration. Many users choose to work through the Tor browser, but, for example, in the case of Yandex.Mail, this is irrelevant, because you will constantly have to deal with errors, and some letters will not be sent at all.
How to choose a complex password?
The most secure email can be regular Gmail, if you choose a very simple and interesting way - use a children's rhyme as a basis. It’s better to choose something less common. The password will consist of the first letters of each word (for example: turtle, the first letter is “h”, corresponds to “x” on the English layout, that is, the password symbol is the letter “x”, and so on). If the letter is the first in a sentence, write it in uppercase. Replace some letters with numbers similar in spelling (“o” to 0). Don't forget about punctuation marks - periods, commas, exclamation and question marks, dashes and colons can also be entered into the password.
Using the same scheme, you can create a password from your favorite saying or aphorism, a memorable phrase from thinkers or movie characters. To make your life a little more difficult, you can replace letters with numbers other than those they resemble (for example, “h” is not 4, but 8, and so on). For the password, you can use a complex medical definition or a hospital discharge. Is the term too long? You can simply throw out every other vowel and write some consonants in upper case. The main thing is that you should not use password generators, because attackers use similar technologies that generate combinations to hack an account.
The meaning of end-to-end encryption of messages in instant messengers. Let me remind you: if you use popular instant messengers (Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook, VK, etc.), then encryption is just a fashionable trend that will not ensure the privacy of your correspondence. A number of countries have already passed laws obliging instant messenger developers to decrypt correspondence in one way or another at the request of intelligence services. Failure to comply will result in a fine and blocking of the service throughout the country.
The same goes for email. Yandex, Mail.ru, Google, Microsoft and other mailers will, without question, merge all your correspondence and search history to the authorities upon appropriate request. And if Yandex and Mail are initially domestic and will not go anywhere from a submarine, then the latter have been registered in Russia for a very long time and will also not go anywhere, in extreme cases they will leak all the information to their American authorities.
Therefore, I can recommend that paranoids and other sympathizers use only those services that operate in relatively independent jurisdictions. Why do you think Telegram wanted to sneeze at all the requests from the intelligence services? — Because Telegram is located in the British Virgin Islands.
And if with instant messengers everything has become more or less clear: there are conditionally bad and conditionally good... Then what to do with email, which is more or less the same everywhere and so unprotected? 
There is such a country - Switzerland, which is famous not only for its watches, but also for its military, political neutrality in relation to all other countries, as well as a bunch of laws protecting the privacy of personal life. This is where we decided to create the most secure email service, ProtonMail. The developers' arguments for safety are as follows:
- The mailbox is encrypted with an individual key. There is not even a theoretical possibility of gaining access to stored letters without a key.
- To access mail, you use either a browser on your computer or separate clients for Android and iOS. All traffic between you and the mail server is encrypted.
- By default, the body of the message is additionally encrypted when sent between ProtonMail participants.
- All mail servers are physically located in Switzerland in one of the most reliable data centers, which is located in a monolithic mountain
- Swiss laws do not allow anyone to leak anything about you
The service is absolutely free, but the mailbox is limited to 500 MB. In principle, it is more than enough for important letters. For money you can buy a larger volume. And there is one more drawback, but it is not always noticeable: ProtonMail is not the fastest email service - the physical distance from us affects it.
Otherwise the post is excellent, I highly recommend it!
Good day, dear readers of the blog site. Today we'll talk about email.
I have been using email for over 10 years. I had the opportunity to use all the services that existed before and that remain and still exist.
In my opinion, the best email is one that is simple in design, easy to use on a daily basis, has reliable hacking protection and good spam protection. Everything else, as they say, is a matter of taste and color.
Today there are TOP 3 clear leaders that are worth considering. All other services are no good.
In addition to mail, you will also have access to very useful services from Google. For example, if you work or plan to work with documents, spreadsheets and presentations, then you will need Microsoft Office.
The cost of such a program ranges from 4,000 rubles and above. Google will provide you with such a product absolutely free! You don't even need to install anything on your computer. All work will take place online.
The next thing you will get by creating a Gmail account is automatic registration on YouTube. Now you can start your own YouTube channel and post videos on it if you suddenly want to.
Another bonus will be “Google Drive”. This is a free storage for your files and documents.
What is most important about all these services is their reliability. Two-factor authentication (protection) will prevent attackers from hacking your email. Be sure to install it.
As I said above, this is the best mail available today. Google is one of the largest companies in the world, and you can be sure that your data will be reliably protected.
If you only need mail and nothing else, then feel free to register and use this service. Everything is good with the defense here too. Two-factor protection will provide you with reliability.
3. Mail mail
Whether to use this service or not is up to you.
Conclusion
Just be sure to write down all passwords in a safe place. Don’t forget to link your account to your phone, this will protect you from hacking almost 100%.
Come in and see how everything is arranged there and how everything works. Where you like it most, stay there.
I have all three emails because I use all the free services, but my main email is gmail.
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