(Update 1/23/17) Yahoo email plans

[TWP]

Clay,

Sadly, any email which is sent to an email server (in the US and most other countries) is retained (by law...) forever.

"deleting" from your online mailbox DOES NOT delete it from the server, it just marks it as "do not display".  Again, that is in most countries, but not all.

You may encrypt it before you send it, which is some (small) protection, but any encryption CAN be broken, given enough computing power applied to it.  That is why using higher levels of encryption (harder and more time consuming to crack) is the only way to go.  At least 2048 bit encryption keys, with 4096 bit recommended.

I too received the notice from Yahoo about the latest large breach (1 billion accounts had information stolen).  This is the SECOND breach on their servers, which means they have (had?) more than one hole in their security screen.

SO, that is why I looked fro an email provider that offered the best security (hardware, software and policy) AND which  was located in a country which does not subscribe to the the email retention policy.  FYI it is Switzerland.

My other criteria was that it be free, which eliminated several servers from my list.

PM me if you want more information about this.  Let's not make it easy for anyone who wants to breach our secure comms setup.

I have heard it said (hearsay) that one way to increase security is to have EVERYONE encrypt their comms, hence nobody will "stand out" as something unusual.

Sadly, again, we are a long way from that solution, but more people are waking up to the problem.

Do you remember the song "Who do you trust?".  It seems apropos here.

[TWP]

For those of us who are concerned about email security and privacy, this article announces the return of one of the "premier" security email providers.

DO NOTE:  This is not a recommendation for this email provider, partly because their past relation with government investigators.  This will give them a higher profile (more eyes and ears watching their traffic), which may become mute (not significant) as other email providers begin using the same techniques to secure their users.

The business is named Lavabit and you can find information about their current (and past) workings in the article.

http://www.itnews.com.au/news/snowdens-secure-email-provider-lavabit-reboots-448393

RE my original post, I have obtained other (more than one) email addresses because of my distrust of Yahoo(r).  Hopefully the transition will not be too painful...  But it is a PITA to switch the many places in which I used my Yahoo(r) account for registration purposes.  Some of these I will simply cancel without regret and others will need negotiations with site owners to insure against foul-ups (Murphy's Law applies here).

I hope this thread helps anyone who is concerned about their privacy...