[tor-talk] Sending email from Tor browser

[Joe Btfsplk]

On 6/14/2014 4:30 AM, Chen Cecilia Zhang wrote:
> Thanks for the reply. I meant doing everything through "Tor browser"----
> write an email but set the sending date as 1 month later. Then closed the
> Tor browser.
>
> Just wonder if the email send automatically by itself 1 month later, the IP
> is still anonymous? or it's shows the IP / Location/ Machine? As by the
> time the email sent, the tor browser closed although everything had been
> set within Tor Browser 1 month earlier.
>
If you mean 1) setting up a completely anonymous email acct using TBB, 
then 2) always using TBB & only TBB to connect to that email (server), 
then it shouldn't matter when the email message is composed or sent.
It also depends to an extent on the email provider.  Some don't include 
your IPa in email headers, nor log it.  Even if they do, if all 
communication w/ the email server (or webmail) is through TBB, they only 
see the Tor exit relay address.

One possible exception might be if one uses an email client (possibly 
including addons, plugins) rather than the provider's webmail, that 
isn't configured correctly to use Tor network, or doesn't strictly 
follow settings to use Tor.  There are other possible ways that 
anonymity could be compromised.

Using webmail vs. an email client (like Thunderbird) may not be as 
convenient, but eliminating the client means one less thing that could 
possibly compromise anonymity.  TBB is *highly configured* to protect 
anonymity, where email clients generally are not.  When using email 
clients, it's largely up to users to configure them (vs. TBB ), then a 
matter of whether the clients will follow the configurations and / or 
have security issues or information leaks.

Torbirdy - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/torbirdy/ 
- "configures Thunderbird to make connections over the Tor anonymity 
network" - can be used, but it's still BETA.

The author also states, "This is an experimental add-on and it requires 
that a user has Tor installed.

It currently contains known leaks and until we have something feature 
complete without *known* leaks, we consider it experimental."