Lavabit, a secure and safe email network.

Lavabit is an email service that gives their users a right to have a safe and secure emailing network. In 2013, Lavabit shut its doors to all users after the US Government ordered it to give its SSL (Secure Socket Layers) keys over to them. This gave the US Government the ability to spy on Edward Snowden, a former CIA worker that leaked numerous global surveillance programs and fled the country.

Ever since its start in 2004, Lavabit has offered the most secure email service available. This email service uses SSL to keep your information safe, SSL uses cryptographic protocols over a computer network. SSL is a service that companies and databases use around the world, ranging from PayPal, Bitcoin, credit card companies, and the US Government. SSL is more secure than some database languages like SQL. Lavabit is a revolutionary email service, since other email services have been breached will simple but powerful SQL attacks. These attacks require a simple character series to obtain a username and password, which can cause destructive consequences. Free email services like Gmail and Yahoo are still susceptible to more complex SQL attacks. Lavabit is the only real service where you are completely safe.

As of January 20th, 2017, Lavabit has opened its doors again. All accounts were deleted prior to the release to prevent any leaked information. Lavabit is a paid service, you can pay $15 a year for a standard service of 5GB or $30 a year for a 20GB service. You can pay via bitcoin, paypal, or card. Lavabit is completely private as well, unless Lavabit servicers release the Secure Socket Layers protecting all information. an email on lavabit is as private as a one on one conversation.

Lavabit has three modes for paid users. The first mode is trustful. The server handles all privacy issues, requiring users to “trust” the server. Accounts operating in Trustful mode send messages using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and receive messages using the Post Office Protocol (POP) or the Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP). Webmail systems handling server-side encryption functions operate in Trustful mode. The second mode is cautious. The server is only used to store and synchronize encrypted data, including encrypted copies of a user’s private keys and encrypted copies of messages. Cautious mode provides a comparable user experience to email today, while minimizing the trust placed in the server. And the last most protective mode is paranoid. The server never has access to a user’s private keys (encrypted or decrypted). Paranoid mode minimizes the amount of trust a user is required to place in their server at the expense of functionality. Paranoid mode does not support webmail access or allow  users to access their account from multiple devices without an external method for synchronizing their key ring.