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This article was taken from the April 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Whether it's a snooper's charter or an invaluable national cybersecurity asset, if the Communications Data Bill becomes law in the UK, prepare for open season on your email. Protect your privacy with anonymous inboxes, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recommends.
Disguise your login
Setting up a pseudonymous -webmail account is "a prudent first step", according to the EFF. But it's easy to trace the IP address used to log in to that account, then see what other accounts have been accessed from the same address. Use Tor, a system that masks your IP address: go to torproject.org to download the browser bundle. Always use it to log in; one login with your real IP address will be permanently traceable. "Do not give your -webmail provider any information linked to your real-world identity."
Select a provider
Once you've installed Tor and got it running, create an email account. EFF recommends using a different webmail provider, to help distinguish secret and regular email accounts. Avoid Gmail, which doesn't allow Tor, and Yahoo! Mail, which lacks https protection.
EFF suggests using Hushmail.com, which has both https and allows Tor. If prompted for a back-up email account, do not use a real one; use a disposable email provider instead (a useful list is available at bit.ly/KLB8UR).
Maintain stealth
Create an account and choose a very strong password. You'll have to tick a box accepting that Hushmail will co-operate with law enforcement pursuing evidence legally. They're allowed to hand over the IP address of a log in, how many times you've logged in and the addresses of those you've emailed. According to the EFF, Hushmail can even show the emails and their contents to law enforcement, so always "make sure that your messages never contain any information that may give your identity away."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
