有时您可能不希望收件人知道是谁向他们发送了匿名电子邮件(sent them an anonymous email)。它可以是任何东西——报告、调查，或者只是一些你想发送给某人的信息，而对方不知道是谁发送的。这篇文章重点介绍如何创建匿名电子邮件 ID(create an anonymous email ID)并保护您的身份。
匿名与加密
在我们探索我们的选择之前，请注意“匿名”和“加密”不是一回事。人们经常混淆这两者。
加密(Encryption)意味着使用算法，使用不同的方法来保证您的数据安全。这样，即使有人触发了中间人攻击(Man in Middle Attack)或类似的事情，他们也无法辨认出任何加密数据。另一方面，匿名意味着接收电子邮件的人或介于两者之间的任何黑客都无法弄清楚谁是他/她正在监视的电子邮件和消息的发件人。(Anonymity)
如何创建匿名电子邮件 ID
有许多实体允许您创建一个匿名电子邮件 ID 来调整服务，以便无法跟踪电子邮件的来源。匿名电子邮件服务提供商领域的主要参与者是ProtonMail和Guerrilla Mail。
质子邮件
ProtonMail是真正的匿名电子邮件服务提供商之一。您无需输入任何有关您自己的详细信息。您只需创建一个匿名电子邮件 ID 和密码。他们不会询问您的姓名、年龄等。您不妨跳过那些用于密码恢复的安全问题。
游击邮件
Guerrilla Mail允许您创建一个加密的电子邮件 ID。他们不会要求您提供可识别信息。您只需打开页面并开始向目标收件人发送电子邮件。无论您是否阅读过，收到的邮件都只会保留一个小时。查看我们的一次性电子邮件 ID 提供商(disposable email ID providers)列表。
注意(Note)：这个领域还有很多其他的，比如Hushmail，但并不是所有的都可以免费使用，所以我没有在这里包括它们。
TOR 浏览器
TOR（洋葱路由器(The Onion Router)）因其架构而成为发送匿名电子邮件的好选择。TOR 浏览器(TOR Browser)通过大量节点（中继）发送数据，从而消除了数据包的原始地址。中继TOR(TOR)数据的节点数量之多，以至于任何关注数据包的人都无法理解其顺序；换句话说，TOR系统几乎是牢不可破的。
TOR拥有自己的电子邮件服务，名为TOR Mail，它使用户能够创建电子邮件 ID 并发送无法追踪的电子邮件，但FBI在 2013 年以某种方式追踪到了一封电子邮件。这使得它“几乎”牢不可破。如果有人拥有专业知识和所需工具，他们可能会追踪电子邮件的来源。也就是说，TOR是最好的，但它并非始终 100% 可靠。
使用带有(Use)VPN的流行电子邮件发送匿名邮件
如果以上感觉不满意，您可以使用VPN创建一个新的电子邮件帐户并匿名发送电子邮件。在这种情况下，您可以使用标准电子邮件提供商，例如Gmail、Outlook等。
但首先，确定你要告诉电子邮件服务提供商什么，因为在创建新的匿名电子邮件 ID 时不会输入真实数据。
您需要打开VPN并将您的国家/地区设置为您居住地以外的其他地方。然后启动浏览器。转到服务提供商的网站以创建新的电子邮件 ID。从姓名到电话号码和其他详细信息，无论程序要求什么，都输入虚假信息。
您唯一需要考虑的是，您应该打开VPN并将国家/地区设置为您在注册时（创建 ID 时）输入的国家/地区。然后继续访问电子邮件服务提供商的网站并访问您的电子邮件。不要在未关闭您用来打开电子邮件的浏览器的情况下退出VPN 。
有些人可能会建议使用代理(proxies)，但它们不再起作用了。在线实体可以识别真实的居住国，即使您可以使用代理连接到这些实体。
提示：当您将 VPN 与(TIP)TOR浏览器结合使用时，它是两全其美的。加载网站需要更长的时间，但是，你真的是匿名的！
如果您知道其他创建匿名电子邮件 ID 的方法，请在评论中与我们分享。
阅读下一篇(Read next)：发送邮件时如何隐藏IP地址(How to hide IP address when sending an email)？
How to create an anonymous email ID?
There may be timeѕ when yoυ don’t want the recipients to know who sent them an anonymous email. It could be anything – reporting, investigations, or simply some information that you want to send to someone without the other side knowing who sent it. This post focusses on how to create an anonymous email ID and protect your identity.
Anonymity vs Encryption
Before we explore our options, please be informed that “anonymity” and “encryption” are not the same thing. People often confuse between the two.
Encryption means using algorithms that keep your data safe using different methods. That way even if anyone triggers a Man in Middle Attack or something similar, they can’t make out anything of the encrypted data. Anonymity, on the other hand, means that the person(s) receiving the email or any hacker in between, can’t figure out who is the sender of the emails and messages s/he is monitoring.
How to create an anonymous email ID
There are many entities that provide let you create an anonymous email ID tweaking the service so that the emails cannot be tracked to their origin. The main players in the field of anonymous email service providers are ProtonMail and Guerrilla Mail.
ProtonMail
ProtonMail is one of the real anonymous email service providers. You need not enter any details about yourself. You simply create an anonymous email ID and password. They don’t ask for your name, age, etc. You may as well skip those security questions used for password recovery.
Guerilla Mail
Guerrilla Mail lets you create a scrambled email ID. They don’t ask you for identifiable information. You just open the page and start sending emails to intended recipients. The incoming mails are kept only for an hour irrespective of whether or not you’ve read it. Take a look at our list of disposable email ID providers.
Note: There are many others in the field like Hushmail, but not all are free to use so I did not include them here.
TOR Browser
TOR (The Onion Router) is a good bet for sending an anonymous email because of its architecture. The TOR Browser sends data through plenty of nodes (relays) thereby eliminating the origin address of the data packets. The number of nodes, that relay TOR data, are so many in number that anyone keeping an eye on data packets, cannot understand the order; in other words, the TOR system is almost unbreakable.
TOR had its own email service named TOR Mail that enabled users to create an email ID and send untraceable emails, but the FBI somehow tracked down an email in the year 2013. That makes it “almost” unbreakable. If someone has the know-how and required tools, they may trace the emails’ origin. That is to say that TOR is the best but still, it is not 100% dependable all the time.
Use popular email with VPN to send anonymous mail
If the above doesn’t feel satisfactory, you can use a VPN to create a new email account and send an email anonymously. In this case, you can use standard email providers like Gmail, Outlook, etc.
But first, determine what all are you going to tell the email service provider because you will not be entering true data when creating a new anonymous email ID.
You need to turn on the VPN and set your country to something other than where you reside. Then fire up the browser. Go to the service providers’ website to create a new email ID. Put in fake information for everything, from name to phone number and other details – whatever the procedure asks you.
The only thing you need to consider is that you should open the VPN and set the country to the one you entered while signing up (when creating the ID). Then proceed to the email service providers’ website and access your email. Don’t quit VPN without closing the browser that you used to open your email.
Some may suggest proxies, but they don’t work anymore. Online entities can identify the real country of residence even though you may connect to those entities using a proxy.
TIP: It is the best of both worlds when you combine VPN with the TOR browser. It will take a while longer to load websites but then, you are truly anonymous!
If you know other methods to create an anonymous email ID, please share them with us in the comments.
Read next: How to hide IP address when sending an email?
