Thinking about hosting my own mail server

[Medic82]

Ok guys, as the title says I am wondering about hosting my own e-mail server. Ever since Snowden leaked about NSA spying on everybody I have become more concerned about online privacy and security. I have already startetd using Linux as my OS and Tor browser, so the next step for me is to stop using Gmail for private e-mails. I have been considering using e-mail companyies like mykolab.com and paying for their service, but then again, the idea about hosting my own mail server is quite tempting.

But the problem is that I have no idea how to do it and if it's even worth it. I know that there are some people that are more experienced in stuff like this so I would wery much like your opinion about this.

Is it more expencive to host your own mail server if you compare it to companyes that offer you the same thing?

The important thing for me is privacy and security.

[RoboYeti]

If you try to run a mail server from your house, you will probably run into issues with your internet service provider. Most ISPs block port 25, which mail servers use to send mail, in order to stop malware from using their customers' computers to blast out spam emails. ISPs do not want their customers to run servers and prohibit them from doing so in most cases unless they pay for expensive "business" class service plans. ISPs also rotate their customers' IP addresses among the ISP's assigned pool. This makes it more complicated to reliably point your domain name to your home server, although you can pay for a service like DynDns to overcome this. If you have a business with a business class internet connection, then running a mail server from there will be much easier.

You could try renting a VPS, which is a virtual server running at a data center. They are quite cheap and if you choose the right provider you can use an online control panel to install and configure the mail server, without having to mess around with command line stuff.

You need to find a provider you trust, in a country you trust, since it will be impossible to guarantee that your provider isn't monitoring you or being compelled by its government to turn over your information.

You will have to handle spam yourself as well as keeping your server patched and secure. These may be formidable challenges, depending on your technical skills.

I don't want to discourage you. Give it a shot. It's the best way to learn about this stuff. Just don't trust your server with anything you can't afford to lose until you are comfortable running it.

If you just want private email, you can keep your gmail account. Just start using encryption like PGP. This will hide your message contents from the government and from Google. The trick to encryption is making all your friends use it.