[tor-talk] Sending email from Tor browser

[Joe Btfsplk]

On 6/14/2014 4:26 PM, grarpamp wrote:
> On Sat, Jun 14, 2014 at 11:15 AM, Joe Btfsplk <joebtfsplk at gmx.com> wrote:
>> 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.
> First, a 'webmail' browser (IE, FF, mac) and an 'email client' (outlook,
> thunderbird, mutt) are each 'one thing', there are not two layered apps
> there, and if you eliminate from 'one' you have zero.
>
> Next, disagree!
> Email client exposure is limited only to the message content and the
> rigorous and simple SMTP/IMAP/POP message transfer protocols.
> And you can use any console client to reduce risk of interpreting message bling.
> Webmail exposes you to the message content, the HTTP transfer protocol,
> plus whatever the hell else they want to jam down your browser to interpret
> and execute via that. That's beyond bad! And the odds that a console browser
> will work well (if at all) with your webmail service are basically zero.
>
>> follow the configurations and / or have security issues or information leaks.
> Both of them can have these equally, so this is moot.
> Moreso, browsers are risky code bloated overkill for email.
>
>> When using email clients, it's largely up to users to configure them (vs. TBB ),
> And learn how to manually configure and test your stuff yourself first so
> at least you have a clue how to verify that TBB, torbirdy, whatever are
> actually working.
I was speaking of using TBB (not any old browser), so for *average* 
users, TBB is more highly & professionally modified for anonymity than 
most email clients would be (for average users).
If you disagree w/ that, then why use TBB at all?

Yes, some clients like Tbird can supposedly be configured to behave 
anonymously - but perhaps not by average or below average users.
Torbirdy is still beta - & the dev warns about bugs.  What ever email 
client one uses over Tor, research it well & test all the possible ways  
it can mess up, that you come across while doing research - IF... 
anonymity is critical.

That's partly why I said (using TBB) on an email provider's webmail, 
that outwardly respects users privacy, may be (not "will be") easier to 
maintain anonymity than configuring Tbird and / or using beta software 
like Torbirdy - for average users.  If it were me & I was truly 
concerned about anonymity, I wouldn't use TBB w/ Gmail, Yahoo, LiveMail, 
etc.  They are the *antithesis* of respecting privacy.

Why would anyone complain about bad behavior of Gmail & their ilk?  
That's like trying to make your tent safe in a lion's den. Just don't 
pitch a tent in a lion's den.  There are lots of other choices.

Pick a provider off the Simple Computer list or others that have good 
reputations for privacy.  Again, anyone considering a privacy respecting 
or security enhancing email provider, read their TOS & Privacy Policy - 
well - to get the latest, accurate policies, then ask them questions, if 
need be.  Many allow using clients for POP or IMAP, but average users 
will have to research a lot to make it anonymous through Tor.