I think it's down to convenience mostly - the ease of setup and use of something like Gmail or Hotmail outweighs the potential privacy issues for most people
Most people unfortunately don't seem to care.
Topic: Are e-mail users imbeciles? (Read 1533 times)
Most people unfortunately don't seem to care.
I think it's down to convenience mostly - the ease of setup and use of something like Gmail or Hotmail outweighs the potential privacy issues for most people
Email will probably never go away due to it's ubiquitousness, but there are of course better systems than others for guarding your privacy. Do you use email yourself - is a good way to answer your own question... 
global moderator
Activity: 3990
Merit: 2713
Join the world-leading crypto sportsbook NOW!
Well if you dont trade drugs guns or child pornography i guess you are good to go
It's not just about the if you're doing nothing wrong then you've got nothing to hide excuse, it's about privacy. Do you want someone to know all your business?
Those who have something to hide will hide it. I can think of a dozen ways to send secret info, with or without PGP.
Well if you dont trade drugs guns or child pornography i guess you are good to go
well, suppose you have a state of the art email account
you send an email to a gmail user. Still your email is readable by government.
you send an email to a gmail user. Still your email is readable by government.
Encrypt it with PGP...
well, suppose you have a state of the art email account
you send an email to a gmail user. Still your email is readable by government.
I like gmail and outlook.com, I don't have anything to hide from my government, that's why I use them
It's not because the things you say now are not illegal, they will remain that way. Maybe the things you say now could get you in big trouble in the future. And maybe than, you'll realize you should have been scared of your government.you send an email to a gmail user. Still your email is readable by government.
I like gmail and outlook.com, I don't have anything to hide from my government, that's why I use them
I use a safe emailprovider, unfortunately it doesn't matter much, because most people I mail aren't.
However we have a p2p messaging system but I wouldn't recommend it yet until it's a few years older. When it comes to crypto it needs to be studied for a few years before we know if its safe and know all the risks:
http://bitmessage.org
I am thinking of a ten minute response time to each message in order for it to be confirmed
global moderator
Activity: 3990
Merit: 2713
Join the world-leading crypto sportsbook NOW!
Maybe they just don't care that the US government read their emails, its mostly spam or junk anyway.
And most of the population doesnt have anything to hide....
Maybe most don't have anything to hide, but there's plenty of stuff people don't want everbody to know.
well, suppose you have a state of the art email account
you send an email to a gmail user. Still your email is readable by government.
I like gmail and outlook.com, I don't have anything to hide from my government, that's why I use them
you send an email to a gmail user. Still your email is readable by government.
I like gmail and outlook.com, I don't have anything to hide from my government, that's why I use them
we need a decentralised crypto email network.
Email is already decentralized in the sense that anyone can set up their own mail server. Any email can be encrypted too with PGP regardless of the provider.
However we have a p2p messaging system but I wouldn't recommend it yet until it's a few years older. When it comes to crypto it needs to be studied for a few years before we know if its safe and know all the risks:
http://bitmessage.org
We could do with a better one though, bitmessage has a lot of design flaws and doesn't scale well at all.
Mega encrypts your files : https://mega.co.nz/ I don't think they willingly give our infos to the us
Or, you could simply use 7Zip and TrueCrypt, which are both open-source.
Mega encrypts your files : https://mega.co.nz/ I don't think they willingly give our infos to the us
They are working on a project to encrypt the web or at least a web mail service
They are working on a project to encrypt the web or at least a web mail service
And most of the population doesnt have anything to hide....
Most people think that right up until it matters.
Ever watched porn? the NSA knows which ones you watch.
Lets pretend you were secretly gay and decided to question the governments authority. They could use that against you, they could threaten to out you unless you stfu and they have done exactly that before.
It's not good to have the NSA collecting this information. What about a rogue employee? a hacker? ANYONE could get access to it. They seem to think that when they place backdoors in software/crypto that only they can use them and that when they collect info only they can access it. Not true at all!
But the problem isn't that the NSA collect it, its that people voluntarily give their private information up. It isn't just the NSA who do this, of course every government is secretly doing it, large corporations are doing it and even criminals. I say let the NSA collect all they like, it's the people that need to stop.
Maybe they just don't care that the US government read their emails, its mostly spam or junk anyway.
And most of the population doesnt have anything to hide....
So NSA read corporate emails too?
Of course.
According to the Snowden leaks, the aim of the NSA isn't to just collect information on terrorist threats to the nation, their aim is to collect information that is "beneficial" to the nation. If a corporation foreign or domestic has information that is useful they will collect it and use it, whether it be financial records, source code, or blueprints for new inventions.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f93_1390833151
So NSA read corporate emails too?
- They choose one of the Big 3 (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo) and think they made the best choice.
- Their messages flow open like postal cards but they think no one can read them.
- They delete their messages from the trash bin and believe the companies kept no copies.
- They think they have an e-mail for free but don't realize the cost of advertising.
- They think their messages are theirs but the companies really own them.
- The e-mail providers don't offer support for cryptography but they seem not to miss it.
- The NSA spies e-mails from all around the world but they think it only happens in the US.
- Their personal messages can be exposed at any time but they are not aware of it.
- They think they can trust the providers but don't realize all they care about is profit.
- And finally, they truly believe they have privacy when they have no privacy at all.
So I ask you again: are e-mail users imbeciles or just naive?
I'm aware of this, but I still use email. Just don't send anything sensitive or encrypt it.
I find Op's message interesting, anything that you say or do on internet could potentially come back if you are not careful; this is true for any social media website or forum though
Jump to: