ProtonMail is a secure email service . Its headquarters are in Switzerland and you will have heard of it on several occasions. For example, Russia has it blocked because it does not allow you to sift through the conversations of its users. And in 2016, Google de-indexed it . ProtonMail was born as a result of the leaks of Edward Snowden . This former NSA worker exposed that the United States security agencies massively monitored the messages and emails of millions of people around the world.
Once we all knew that the security agencies monitor their citizens and foreign citizens, in 2013, CERN scientists decided to create an email service that would make the internet more secure and private . Based in Geneva, Switzerland, it is not bound by US and European law. This makes ProtonMail servers neutral and cannot be mined under the guise of investigations outside Swiss borders.
What makes ProtonMail special?
This secure email service has several ingredients that make it stand out from more popular options like Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo! First, it uses end-to-end encryption . In the words of its creators, “not even we can decrypt or read your emails. As a result, your encrypted emails cannot be shared with third parties. ”
To do this, it implements encryption using AES, RSA and OpenPGP . And to communicate server and device, it uses SSL encryption certified by a Swiss certificate issuer, SwissSign .
On the other hand, ProtonMail's servers are in Switzerland, they are its own servers , not third parties such as Amazon, Google or Microsoft. And their data centers require biometric access. In addition, the server disks have full encryption and several layers of passwords .
Second. “No personal information is required to create your secure email account. By default, we do not keep any records of IP addresses that can be linked to your anonymous email account. ”
Otherwise, the software used to make ProtonMail work is open source. And playing with the ambiguity of the free software concept, which in English is valid for both free and free, ProtonMail is free by default , although you can contract the paid version to obtain more functions and, step, support this non-profit project.
The ProtonMail ecosystem
The company behind ProtonMail is called Proton . Or being strict, Proton Technologies. Following the success of its email service, it has expanded its portfolio of tools to make the internet a safer place.
For starters, it has its own VPN, ProtonVPN , with a policy of not saving user logs and that integrates Tor. It also offers hundreds of servers in dozens of countries so you can browse freely. Here you can check the differences between your free VPN and your paid subscriptions.
Email, VPN, calendar and online storage. With Proton Calendar , which was released in April this year in Beta phase, you will be able to manage your daily, weekly or monthly agenda from privacy. It has a Web version and an Android application. In the future there will also be an app for iOS.
And Proton Drive is offered as a complementary service for the paid versions of ProtonVPN and ProtonMail. Basically it is an online store where you can save files with security and encryption .
In short, that by combining all of Proton's products to date, you can count on email, online storage, calendar and VPN. All of them focused on protecting your security and privacy. Perfect for those who handle information, data and sensitive files and / or in special circumstances.
What do I do to use this secure email?
To start using ProtonMail you just have to do the same as to sign up for Google, iCloud or Outlook. Come on, register . On its official page you will find a button Register . You will be asked what type of account you want. Start with the free one and, in the future, you will jump to a paid one.
ProtonMail , free, offers: 500 MB of storage 150 messages per day ProtonMail , € 4 per month, offers: 5 GB of storage 1,000 messages per day Labels, custom filters and folders Send encrypted messages to external recipients (not using ProtonMail) Use your own domain Up to 5 email aliases Besides, there are two additional paid versions that offer more storage, messages, domains, simultaneous users, etc.
Once you have chosen the ProtonMail mode you want, you must indicate a username and password. Finally, you will be asked for an email address to retrieve your ProtonMail account.
Once you have created your account, you can access it from the Web in any browser and from the official applications for iOS and Android.
