Criptext - Signal for email

[webfork]

I'm posting this to discussion because I really don't get the sense that it should be submitted to the database. The program is tied to a specific service and is early-stage.

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This is a private email service with encryption between members and standard email with non-members. I looked into this briefly and just wanted to sumarize: this team is trying to do what Signal did, but for email even using Signal's technology for exchanging data. Being that email is more complex than messaging services, this leaves some questions.

This service is not distributed and there's only one group to rely on for service and to trust that it's actually secure: the makers of the software and (so far) unaudited code. That said, it's still probably 10x more private/secure than commonly used tools like Gmail and Facebook, which aren't even trying. Certainly the Hush project also offered free, encrypted email and turned out to have issues, so there's reason to hesitate, but still nice to see someone trying.

Pros

- Free and open source
- Attachment file size limit is 25 megs, which is well above what I expected for a free encryption service
- No server limits as nothing is stored on a server (it's all local)

Cons

- Signal has a reputation, this program just borrows Signal's code
- As of yet no independent code audit

Wishlist

- The ability to get a normal-sounding email address (or forwarding adress). If I write webfork@criptext.com on my resume and I'm not a security researcher, I think that would look odd.
- Spam protections

Websites

https://www.criptext.com/
https://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/ ... text.shtml

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Related: Open letter to security freeware developers viewtopic.php?p=76156#p76156

[freakazoid]

Startmail.com is also an alternative, but it's not free.

The problem with both Criptext and Startmail is all your friends need to be on the service for the encryption to work, otherwise it doesn't make much sense to use these email providers.

Also of note, Criptext allows for custom email domains, but only for business users. $12-15 per user a month though. Startmail offers custom email domains as well, but is cheaper at $60 a year.

Disclaimer: I don't use either of these services.

[webfork]

The problem with both Criptext and Startmail ...

Wow, very on target for additional info. Thanks for that.

[Midas]

Anyone tried Protonmail (webmail/mobile)?

Messages are stored on ProtonMail servers in encrypted format. They are also transmitted in encrypted format between our servers and user devices. Messages between ProtonMail users are also transmitted in encrypted form within our secure server network. Because data is encrypted at all steps, the risk of message interception is largely eliminated.

@ https://protonmail.com/

[webfork]

Anyone tried Protonmail (webmail/mobile)?

Messages are stored on ProtonMail servers in encrypted format. They are also transmitted in encrypted format between our servers and user devices. Messages between ProtonMail users are also transmitted in encrypted form within our secure server network. Because data is encrypted at all steps, the risk of message interception is largely eliminated.

@ https://protonmail.com/

I've tested both ProtonMail and the basic ProtonVPN with some success. Neither are excellent but both offer what seems to be fairly good privacy, with free versions of both.

I found this review to be overharsh in terms of the negatives, but it does give a good overview of the service: https://restoreprivacy.com/protonvpn/

[Midas]

Mailfence (https://mailfence.com/) is yet another untested option...

It's based in the EU (Belgium) and provides 500MB of free mail storage space.

[Midas]

A recent Ghacks.net review of Cryptext was posted to:

www.ghacks.net /2019/11/28/criptext-is-a-free-encrypted-email-service-with-open-source-apps-for-windows-linux-macos-android-and-ios/