Introduction

I've accumulated a growing number of accounts as my years on the internet continue. This created a massive email mess I'm constantly trying to manage, between spam, marketing, lost emails and deciding which one to use for sign-ups I decided to sit down and evaluate my choices.

What Are My Options?

There are multiple places that you can look for email. I could just stick with my current system which is linking everything through outlook. Here is a list of options of what I'll be looking into today:

1. Proton mail
2. Thunderbird
3. Just stick with what I have

Proton Mail: A Privacy-focused end to end service

Proton Mail: Get a private, secure, and encrypted email account | Proton

Proton Mail is the world’s largest secure email service with over 100 million users. Available on Web, iOS, Android, and desktop. Protected by Swiss privacy law.

Proton

Proton advertises itself as a privacy protection service, they show many features like encrypted mail, privacy first engineering, and email privacy tools. including many of the tools cybersecurity or privacy conscious people want to see, email aliases where you can have for example proton@proton.me or even proton2@proton.me all send to the same inbox. allowing for some sending separation without having to run the classic + trick that has been recommended in the past.

How much does proton mail cost?

Proton mail works on a subscription service. You can pay for multiple other services that they offer including password manager, VPN, and additional storage space. I would recommend that you choose one of these depending on your needs. Mail Plus is a great option if this will be your main email address. you can even use your custom domain for your email!

Would I recommend using proton outside of the Cybersecurity field?

Actually, believe it or not no. Proton is best taken advantage of by the ones who are trying to solve a problem that they have. Gmail, and Microsoft work perfectly fine and are well supported. Proton mail is marketed specifically to those looking for privacy control, if that is not you. I'd say just keep your current service.

And to be frank those services are free, and proton does have a paid tier. But the paying tier supports the initiatives of Proton that I support all well.

Thunderbird

Thunderbird — Free Your Inbox.

Thunderbird is a free email application that’s easy to set up and customize - and it’s loaded with great features!

Thunderbird

Thunderbird is my recent switch. Instead of paying for proton mail to connect all my accounts and use their app. I started using thunderbird on my phone. This was a great opportunity to streamline my email. The obvious advantages are that its open source and is constantly updated.

With how thunderbird is designed it is super easy to connect any outside accounts to it. That makes it super nice to connect multiple different services and keep it all in one place. That is why I'm currently using it.

Option 3: Just don't change

This of course takes the lease amount of my time. If it works don't change it right? Well, the fun thing about me is I'm always experimenting. I want to try new things and new services to streamline my operations, and this time is one of that! Privacy and ease of use is on my mind. My argument against this option is clear though. seeing releases like this article from proton:

Outlook is Microsoft’s new data collection service | Proton

The new Outlook now appears to be a data collection service for Microsoft’s 801 external partners for targeted advertising.

ProtonEdward Komenda

Really starts to scare me on where my data is going. If you don't read the article, I just want to take one picture out of it for reference:

This is a message that European users get of the new "New Outlook" that Microsoft released. Having my data processed by 801 partners is definitely what I don't want to have. If you have a system that works, and privacy isn't your concern sticking with these providers might be the best option for you. But in the interest of a cybersecurity blog. I'm going to tell you to run as fast as you can away from it.

Conclusion

Email is hard. The ultimate choice depends on your priorities. With recent updates to data collection policies by major cooperations, I recommend starting to use open source and privacy first solutions. If that means you pay for proton mail or just use thunderbird. that is up to you. Unless your super technical and have the infrastructure, nobody is going to host their own email server. So the best choice is hard to say. Personally, I will be using thunderbird for some time and hopefully justify the use of proton mail.

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