An anonymous remailer is a server computer which receives messages with embedded instructions on where to send them next, and which forwards them without revealing where they originally came from. There are Cypherpunk anonymous remailers, Mixmaster anonymous remailers, and nym servers, among others which differ in how they work, in the policies they adopt, and in the type of attack on anonymity of email they can (are intended to) resist. Remailing as discussed in this article applies to emails intended for particular receipients, not the general public. Anonymity in the latter case is more easily addressed by using any of several methods of anonymous publication.
Types of remailers
There are several strategies which contribute to making the email so handled (more, or less) anonymous. In general, different classes of anonymous remailers differ with regard to the choices their designers/operators have made.
It must be understood that every data packet traveling on the Internet contains the node addresses (as raw IP bit strings) of both the sending and intended recipient nodes, and so no data packet can ever actually be anonymous at this level. However, if the IP source address is false, there will be no easy way to trace the originating node (and so the originating entity for the packet). In addition, all standards-based email messages contain defined fields in their headers in which the source and transmitting entities (and Internet nodes as well) are required to be included. The full headers are often suppressed by mail reading software, so many users have never seen one.
Some remailers change both types of address in messages they forward, and the list of forwarding nodes in email messages as well, as the message passes through; in effect, they substitute 'fake source addresses' for the originals. The 'IP source address' for that packet may become that of the remailer server itself, and within an email message (which is usually several packets), a nominal 'user' on that server. Some remailers forward their anonymized email to still other remailers, and only after several such hops is the email actually delivered to the intended address.
Traceable remailers
Some remailers establish an internal list of actual senders and invented names such that a recipient can send mail to invented name AT some_remailer.net. When receiving traffic addressed to this user, the server software consults that list, and forwards the mail to the original sender, thus permitting anonymous -- though traceable with access to the list -- two way communication. The famous "penet.fi" remailer in Finland did just that for several years. Unfortunately, because of the existence of such lists in this type of remailing server, it is possible to break the anonymity by gaining access to the list(s). Break into the computer, ask a court (or merely the police in some places) to order that the anonymity be broken, or bribe an attendant. Exactly this happened to penet.fi as a result of some traffic passed through it about Scientology; there was a lawsuit and a court ordered that the list be made available. Penet's operator shut it down after destroying its records (including the list) to retain identity confidentiality for its users.
More recent remailer designs use cryptography in an attempt to provide more or less the same service, but without so much risk of loss of user confidentiality. These are generally termed nym servers or pseudonymous remailers. The degree to which they remain vulnerable to forced disclosure (by courts or police) is and will remain unclear, since new statutes/regulations and new cryptanalytic developments proceed apace. Multiple anonymous forwarding among cooperating remailers in different jurisdictions may retain, but cannot guarantee, anonymity even against even a determined attempt by one or more governments, or civil litigators.
Untraceable remailers
If users accept the loss of two-way interaction, identity anonymity can be made more secure.
By not keeping any list of users and corresponding anonymizing labels for them, a remailer can ensure that any message which has been forwarded leaves no internal information behind which can later be used to break identity confidentiality. However, while being handled, messages remain vulnerable within the server (eg, to Trojan software in a compromised server, to a compromised server operator, or to mis-administration of the server), and traffic analysis comparison of traffic into and out of such a server can suggest quite a lot -- far more than almost any would credit.
The mixmaster strategy is designed to defeat such attacks, or at least to increase their cost (ie, to 'attackers') beyond feasibility. If every message is passed through several servers (ideally in different legal and political jurisdictions), then attacks based in legal systems become considerably more difficult, if only because of 'Clausewitzian' friction amongst lawyers, courts, different statutes, organizational rivalries, etc. And, since many different servers, and server operators, are involved, subversion of any (ie, of either system or operator) becomes less effective also since no one (most likely) will be able to subvert the entire chain of remailers.
Random padding of messages, random delays before forwarding, and encryption of forwarding information between forwarding remailers, increases the degree of difficulty for attackers still further as message size and timing can be largely eliminated as traffic analysis clues, and lack of easily readable forwarding information makes ineffective simple automated traffic analysis algorithms.
Reasons for using an anonymous remailer
In an era of spam and junk email and identity theft, email access by just anyone can be actually problematic. If it can be maintained, anonymity can shield users from such problems; remailers can help. Bulletin board and news group postings of controversial opinion can (and actually have) attracted unwelcome attention both official and private. In some cases, that attention has been dangerous -- criminally or politically. Anonymous remailers can assist in preventing, or at least hampering, this as well.
Opponents of anonymity (eg, of anonymous remailers as facilitators of same) suggest that anonymity allows/encourages illegal or dangerous activity (eg, terrorism, drug trafficking, pedophiliac attacks against children, ...). The inference intended by such claims is that, without anonymity, these things would not occur, or would be less likely to do so, and so we would all be safer. This is a questionable inference since, prior to the practical availability of this kind of anonymity, all of these things occurred anyway. Actual evidence of a causal or even facilitating connection is limited, and in any case, disputed. There have been several prominent attempts to claim they have, in the press and otherwise; few have included credible evidence, and some have cited mere allegations as 'evidence'. An example is a cover article in a national news magazine a few years ago which has become infamous.
In addition, many object to anonymity because it facilitates such things as advocacy of unpopular positions (eg, religious, political, social, sexual, economic, artistic, ...). For societies in which there is central control of such speech and activity, anonymity actually does present a problem today. Anonymity advocates suggest that the real problem is not how to centrally or forcibly control speech and thought, but whether it should be controlled at all.
For societies in which free speech and thought is claimed to be an important value, the problem is rather different. To the extent that anonymity (and so anonymous remailers) are used to exercise free speech, neither should be an issue at all, the question having been settled. For those in such societies who are opposed to free speech and thought (or merely opposed to 'some kinds' of speech and thought), anonymity (and so anonymous remailers) will be a problem, just as they are in more explictly controlling cultures. Again, anonymity advocates suggest that the actual problem is less which kind of free speech to abridge, but whether any should be controlled at all.
These issues are unresolved, are perhaps inherently unresolvable unanimously, and remain controversial. To date 'technical solutions', in any direction and for any purpose, have been kludges and less than successful, regardless of perspective.
Using a remailer
If the object is identity anonymity, nothing sent to an emailer can ever include identifying information in content available to an outside observer. Thus, "From: anon(At)remailer.net Hey dude, send me that new comic to 123 Maple Street, Wherever, Country, Postal Code. Thanx" is evidently entirely insecure. Encrypting such a message with an adequately secure cryptosystem would help, and some remailers are set up to do so. In general cleartext messages are likely to include such information even if inadvertently, and user anonymity when sending cleartext messages is accordingly likely to be lost.
Less obviously, some software (eg, recent versions of Microsoft Office components -- Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, etc) includes (ordinarily invisible) identifying information in each formatted file it saves. The information might be name / organization / email address (collected at 'product registration' and retained internally), or product copy serial number, or computer ID (eg, CPU serial number, or interface hardware address (eg, Ethernet MAC, a unique in the world ID), or ... One software program which claims to remove such information from files notes that there are about 30 different kinds in Word format files. Those interested in anonymity should limit themselves to plain text messages (ASCII text only) produced by plain text editors (eg, vi, emacs, pico, ...; each is available for most operating systems) as they don't include such hidden information. Alternatively, users should take great care to inspect files (eg, text, images, sound files, ...) to ensure they contain no identifying information. Note however, that even byte-by-byte inspection will not necessarily uncover such information since it can be easily concealed by encryption, steganography, or simple unfamiliarity.
Anonymity, once lost, can almost never be regained as those interested in breaching it will often keep (and have often kept) records of such discoveries. Such records have typically had very long lives, particularly if those keeping them have long planning horizons (eg, governments, or groups with social or political interests). For some opinions or speech, this may have, or come to have, serious consequences.
Choosing a remailer
Not all anonymous remailers are identical, even when all works as intended. Close attention to operational standards and intent, locations, and reliability records is needed before choosing one. Among the criteria which should be considered are:
- class (eg, two way vs one way, encrypted message content vs cleartext only, mixmaster style or one hop forwarding, ...)
- location (eg, some jurisdictions allow easier seizure of equipment, data, or operating records than do others)
- history (eg, some operators maintain/administer their hardware and software in better condition than others; in particular, attention to security configuration issues)
- security (eg, some operating systems have much worse security histories (and so likely futures?) than others, even when properly configured, maintained, and administered)
- operator (at worst, a remailer run by some infamous Secret Police Department will be less than desirable; less ominously, an operator may simply be consistently inattentive)
- privacy and operating policies (eg, if stated, better than not; if stated, sensible, and observed, better still; however, recourse (legal or otherwise) has been almost never available against operators, software developers, operating system suppliers, ... in case of loss of anonymity and/or consequent damages regardless of operating policies, stated or observed)
- software used (eg, some remailer software is widely used (and live tested), some is not)
- record and reputation (eg, consult remailer statistics sites, and check around (Google search, news group postings, blogs, ...)
There is no way to ensure that any particular remailer server will never cause problems for its users (eg, loss of identity confidentiality). A remailer system not under one's own (expert level) control will always remain, to some extent, unknown.
Some popular remailers
Remailer statistics
In most cases, remailers are owned and operated by individuals, and are not as stable as they might ideally be. In fact, remailers can, and have, gone down without warning. It is therefore important to use up-to-date statistics when choosing remailers. Statistics can be obtained from the following sites (and others):
Since the release of Echolot, an automated remailer pinger application written by Peter Palfrader , the number of accurately maintained statistics sources has increased considerably. A list of all pingers can be obtained from http://www.noreply.org/allpingers/. A consolidated view of current remailer statistics based on all available stats sources is available at http://www.noreply.org/meta/.
See also
Remailer Software
External links
Further reading
