...I am trying to think of a way to not be at the mercy of web based email providers that sell my information to third party advertisers. I know about Lavabit.com email but their email accounts don't have enough options for me. I was going to try this way of setting up a server: http://www.instantfundas.com/2008/03/how-to-setup-your-own-web-server-at.html Building off of DuckDuckGo's idea of privacy, I want to start my own personal (just for me, no end users) web based email server so I don't have to deal with third party advertisers or somebody else managing my email service. And then just give that email address out to friends who can contact at my own server that I run myself so I know no one is managing my email other than me. Does this make any sense to someone who knows about this stuff or do I not understand web servers? Once I have my own web server set up, would the emails be on my computer? I prefer if they were completely web based so I don't use up more space on my computer. Is this or something close to it possible? Thanks!
It's not only possible, it's easy. If you're using a PC, Exchange is an option (but you'll need a server OS), but an easier alternative would be using the free version of Smartermail (www.smartertools.com) - check the requirements out first. It will be much better if you can get a fixed IP address from your ISP, and you'll need a domain too where you can control your DNS records. You'll also need to be able to route traffic from your ADSL router (or cable) and open up ports (not that hard - depending upon the brand). You don't want to be offering this as a service to other people, but for your own emails it's probably fine. The only downside is that you'll need to keep your PC connected 24/7, and if it's switched off (or down) your emails will bounce.....so, try to find someone who will offer a backup email server for you, so you can switch your PC off when you want, they will collect your emails in the meantime and then forward then onto you when your PC is running again. There are some technical aspects to it, but they're not outwith the bounds of a reasonably savvy user that can follow instructions. All I've done is give you a quick overview of what you need to do. If you need to know HOW to do it, installation instructions from the software you use and Google will be your friend. On the other hand, just find a host offering an email service with a web-based interface (most of them). Few hosts are collecting or selling information about their users and there's some very good web mail interfaces (Smartermail included). I've no idea why people subject themselves to the scrutiny and data mining of GMail when there's lots of nicer web mail systems around.
I've posted this same exact question on about five different forums and this is literally the best, most understandable answer I've gotten. The other answers were fine but, considering I know absolutely nothing about servers or exactly what's "private" out there and what's not, this is first time someone actually told me the exact options I'm looking for and how each one would work in conjunction to what I'm trying to achieve. Awesome! Thanks! Can you recommend a really good host with high end user privacy standards similar to Lavabit?
I don't know anything about Lavabit I'm afraid (and I'm too lazy to go looking!). I work for a Windows hosting company so I can only offer suggestions based on my experiences. I'm sure there are many good Linux based email programmes too. I have a great liking for Smartermail and thoroughly recommend it. Many windows hosts use it, and the latest Enterprise V9 (make sure it's that version they are using) has some brilliant features. If you're looking for a host I'd go to their forums (Smartertools) and look around some of the posts. There are some great providers there, some with very high security standards to comply with the needs of medical clients (server security, retention, connection security etc) and these may be the kind of people you want to deal with. I'm sure some of them will do an email-only account if that's all you're looking for. It's much easier than setting it all up yourself - if a little less satisfying - and you probably won't need to worry about them mining your emails for keywords then selling that info on.