1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,020 Okay. You know the drill. You're online, signing up for something, anything really. 2 00:00:04,020 --> 00:00:08,220 And bam, enter email. It's just everywhere. Our universal key. 3 00:00:08,220 --> 00:00:10,340 It really is super convenient, no doubt, 4 00:00:10,340 --> 00:00:13,060 but it's also like leaving your front door unlocked. 5 00:00:13,060 --> 00:00:18,060 Sometimes that single address opens you up to spam fishing and honestly, 6 00:00:18,060 --> 00:00:20,780 just relentless tracking. Yeah. The tracking thing is big. 7 00:00:20,780 --> 00:00:24,940 It feels like our email has become this a central point, 8 00:00:24,940 --> 00:00:28,820 this online ID that data brokers just love. Exactly. 9 00:00:29,140 --> 00:00:32,220 And even if you're smart, you use a VPN, you've got ad blockers running. 10 00:00:32,220 --> 00:00:35,020 That email address lets them connect the dots. 11 00:00:35,020 --> 00:00:38,720 They can build this whole profile about you across different sites. It's, 12 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,140 well, it's a bit creepy actually. So if that's the weak link, 13 00:00:41,140 --> 00:00:45,300 what can we actually do about it? Are there solid ways to, you know, 14 00:00:45,300 --> 00:00:47,940 shield that email address and get some control back? 15 00:00:47,940 --> 00:00:50,100 Well, that's precisely what we're diving into today. 16 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:53,580 There's a really interesting solution called simple login. It's open source, 17 00:00:53,580 --> 00:00:54,780 which is a big plus. 18 00:00:54,780 --> 00:00:58,360 And it's all about helping you manage your inbox and protect your privacy 19 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,540 online. Simple login. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. 20 00:01:00,540 --> 00:01:03,320 The core idea uses something called email aliases. 21 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,580 Think of them as decoys for your real email. 22 00:01:06,580 --> 00:01:11,060 So today our mission is basically to unpack what these aliases are, 23 00:01:11,060 --> 00:01:14,700 how simple login makes them work for you. And, uh, 24 00:01:14,700 --> 00:01:17,620 for anyone feeling adventurous will even touch on how you can host this thing 25 00:01:17,620 --> 00:01:20,660 yourself. Self-hosting. Interesting. Yeah. 26 00:01:20,660 --> 00:01:23,140 The goal is really just to make sense of it all, 27 00:01:23,140 --> 00:01:26,340 even if you're not super technical, it's about boosting your online privacy. 28 00:01:26,420 --> 00:01:30,140 Right. And speaking of taking control and having a solid foundation online, 29 00:01:30,140 --> 00:01:32,580 this deep dive is brought to you by safe server. 30 00:01:32,580 --> 00:01:36,300 They're all about digital transformation and can handle the kind of hosting we 31 00:01:36,300 --> 00:01:40,060 might touch on later. They help you get set up and support your digital journey. 32 00:01:40,060 --> 00:01:43,980 You can find out more at www.safeserver.de. 33 00:01:43,980 --> 00:01:48,180 A very fitting sponsor for today's topic. Definitely. Okay. So aliases, 34 00:01:48,180 --> 00:01:52,240 let's get into it. What exactly is an email alias in this context? 35 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,300 How does simple login use it to like protect my real email? Okay. 36 00:01:56,300 --> 00:01:58,620 Think of an alias as simply a forwarding address. 37 00:01:58,620 --> 00:02:01,300 It sits in front of your real email address and hides it. 38 00:02:01,300 --> 00:02:04,420 Like giving out a specific mailbox number at the post office instead of your 39 00:02:04,420 --> 00:02:08,020 home address. Ah, okay. Like a PO box makes sense. Pretty much. 40 00:02:08,020 --> 00:02:10,420 The process is basically three steps. One, 41 00:02:10,420 --> 00:02:15,300 when a website asks for your email, you don't give your real one. 42 00:02:15,300 --> 00:02:19,300 You create and give them a simple login alias instead. 43 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:22,660 So you're signing up for, I don't know, a shopping site. 44 00:02:23,140 --> 00:02:27,740 You might use cool shop at my alias.com. Okay. Step one, use the alias. 45 00:02:27,740 --> 00:02:29,740 Easy enough. What happens next? 46 00:02:29,740 --> 00:02:32,940 How does the email get to me without them knowing my real address? Right. 47 00:02:32,940 --> 00:02:36,900 That's step two. Any email sent to that alias, cool shop at my alias.com. 48 00:02:36,900 --> 00:02:40,340 Simple login instantly forwards it to your actual inbox. 49 00:02:40,340 --> 00:02:43,500 The original sender, the shopping site, they only ever see the alias. 50 00:02:43,500 --> 00:02:46,780 Your real address stays completely hidden from them. Okay. Hidden forwarding. 51 00:02:46,780 --> 00:02:49,780 Got it. And then step three, this is the really cool part. 52 00:02:49,940 --> 00:02:53,820 You can actually reply to that email or even start a new email and have it come 53 00:02:53,820 --> 00:02:57,500 from the alias, simple login handles, swapping out the from address automatically. 54 00:02:57,500 --> 00:03:01,180 So the whole conversation stays under the alias. Wait, you can send from it too. 55 00:03:01,180 --> 00:03:03,460 That feels like the key differentiator because, you know, 56 00:03:03,460 --> 00:03:06,180 people might know the little plus sign trick with Gmail, 57 00:03:06,180 --> 00:03:10,180 like my mail plus Facebook and gmail.com. Right. The plus addressing. Yeah. 58 00:03:10,180 --> 00:03:14,260 That's okay for filtering maybe, but it doesn't really hide anything, does it? 59 00:03:14,260 --> 00:03:16,540 And I've heard some sites just block those anyway. 60 00:03:16,580 --> 00:03:20,900 You've hit the nail on the head with the plus trick. Your actual email address 61 00:03:20,900 --> 00:03:23,980 is right there in plain sight. Just remove the bit after the plus. 62 00:03:23,980 --> 00:03:29,460 Many sites do block them and crucially advertisers can easily strip the plus 63 00:03:29,460 --> 00:03:32,780 part and link everything back to your one core identity. 64 00:03:32,780 --> 00:03:36,140 It doesn't stop cross site tracking at all. Okay. 65 00:03:36,140 --> 00:03:41,100 Simple login aliases completely avoid those problems because the alias itself 66 00:03:41,100 --> 00:03:44,820 contains no clue about your real address. It's a proper shield. 67 00:03:44,900 --> 00:03:47,580 So it's much more than just, you know, managing spam. 68 00:03:47,580 --> 00:03:51,260 It's actually about breaking that chain of tracking across different websites. 69 00:03:51,260 --> 00:03:52,580 Precisely. Think about it. 70 00:03:52,580 --> 00:03:55,220 If you use a unique alias for every single service, 71 00:03:55,220 --> 00:03:59,540 data brokers can't just link your activity on site a with your activity on 72 00:03:59,540 --> 00:04:01,220 site B using your email anymore. 73 00:04:01,220 --> 00:04:04,540 Each site only knows a unique identifier that you control. Right. 74 00:04:04,540 --> 00:04:08,740 And if one of those sites gets hacked and the email list leaks, well, 75 00:04:08,740 --> 00:04:10,700 you just disable that one alias. 76 00:04:10,700 --> 00:04:14,300 Your main inbox isn't suddenly flooded with spam from that breach. 77 00:04:14,620 --> 00:04:18,620 And your core email address remains safe. It gives you compartmentalization. 78 00:04:18,620 --> 00:04:22,420 That level of control is pretty compelling. Now you mentioned it's open source 79 00:04:22,420 --> 00:04:27,620 for something handling my email, my privacy. That feels important. 80 00:04:27,620 --> 00:04:29,700 How open are we talking? Very important. 81 00:04:29,700 --> 00:04:32,060 You wouldn't want a black box managing this stuff, right? Yeah. 82 00:04:32,060 --> 00:04:34,460 Simple login is a hundred percent open source. 83 00:04:34,460 --> 00:04:37,540 That means the server code that runs the service, the browser extensions, 84 00:04:37,540 --> 00:04:40,660 the mobile apps, all of it, everything. Yep. Everything. 85 00:04:40,660 --> 00:04:44,580 The code is out there on places like GitHub for anyone to look at, to audit, 86 00:04:44,580 --> 00:04:48,060 to see exactly how it works. You can verify it's doing what it says it does. 87 00:04:48,060 --> 00:04:52,580 That transparency is absolutely key for building trust in a privacy tool. Okay. 88 00:04:52,580 --> 00:04:55,380 That's reassuring. And beyond the trust factor, 89 00:04:55,380 --> 00:04:57,780 how easy is it to actually use day to day? 90 00:04:57,780 --> 00:04:59,620 It's designed to be pretty seamless. Actually. 91 00:04:59,620 --> 00:05:02,740 You can manage your aliases from their website. Sure. 92 00:05:02,740 --> 00:05:06,740 But also directly from browser extensions. They've got them for Chrome, 93 00:05:06,740 --> 00:05:11,740 Firefox, Safari, and mobile apps too, for Android and iOS. 94 00:05:12,180 --> 00:05:15,540 So you can create or manage aliases right where you need them. 95 00:05:15,540 --> 00:05:18,540 So it fits into your workflow. Nice. Definitely. 96 00:05:18,540 --> 00:05:20,620 And it goes beyond just basic aliases. 97 00:05:20,620 --> 00:05:23,780 There are some quite powerful features tucked in there too. For instance, 98 00:05:23,780 --> 00:05:26,380 you can use your own custom domain name. Oh, 99 00:05:26,380 --> 00:05:29,780 like contact at my own domain.com. Exactly like that. 100 00:05:29,780 --> 00:05:33,020 So you can have really professional looking aliases or even manage basic 101 00:05:33,020 --> 00:05:36,220 business emails this way, like info at my company.com, 102 00:05:36,220 --> 00:05:40,020 without needing a separate, sometimes expensive email hosting package, 103 00:05:40,180 --> 00:05:43,700 just for a few addresses. Simple login handles the forwarding. 104 00:05:43,700 --> 00:05:46,660 That could actually save some money too. What was that other thing? Catchall. 105 00:05:46,660 --> 00:05:50,460 Ah, yes. Catchall. This is super handy. If you do use a custom domain, 106 00:05:50,460 --> 00:05:54,740 you can set it up so that literally anything sent to at your custom domain.com 107 00:05:54,740 --> 00:05:58,060 automatically becomes an alias and forwards to you. Anything. 108 00:05:58,060 --> 00:06:02,300 So I could just make one up on the spot like random service 24 at my custom 109 00:06:02,300 --> 00:06:04,420 domain.com. Yeah, exactly that. 110 00:06:04,420 --> 00:06:07,980 You don't even need to log in to simple login to create it first. 111 00:06:07,980 --> 00:06:10,060 Just invent it when you sign up for something. 112 00:06:10,060 --> 00:06:13,100 And even if you don't have a custom domain, 113 00:06:13,100 --> 00:06:15,980 they offer a similar thing with sub domains they provide. Okay. 114 00:06:15,980 --> 00:06:20,980 So you could create say pizza place at my sub domain dot alias.com right at the 115 00:06:20,980 --> 00:06:25,180 counter without opening the app. Wow. Okay. That is seriously convenient. 116 00:06:25,180 --> 00:06:29,780 What if I use multiple email accounts? Like one for personal, one for projects. 117 00:06:29,780 --> 00:06:32,940 No problem. You can add several of your existing email addresses. 118 00:06:32,940 --> 00:06:35,420 They call them mailboxes to your simple login account. 119 00:06:35,900 --> 00:06:39,780 Then when you create a new alias, you just choose which of your real mailboxes, 120 00:06:39,780 --> 00:06:42,500 it should twine it forward to helps keep things organized. 121 00:06:42,500 --> 00:06:45,820 Makes sense. And what about security? We're talking about handling email here. 122 00:06:45,820 --> 00:06:49,900 Good question. They take that seriously. First, you can use PGP encryption. 123 00:06:49,900 --> 00:06:51,540 If you set it up, 124 00:06:51,540 --> 00:06:56,260 simple login encrypts the email using your public PGP key before it even 125 00:06:56,260 --> 00:06:57,620 forwards it to your inbox. 126 00:06:57,620 --> 00:07:01,020 So only I can decrypt it even if someone intercepted it somehow. 127 00:07:01,020 --> 00:07:04,060 Exactly. It adds a strong layer of end to end encryption, 128 00:07:04,060 --> 00:07:08,540 essentially works great with services like proton mail or if you use PGP tools 129 00:07:08,540 --> 00:07:12,540 yourself. And then for securing your actual simple login account, 130 00:07:12,540 --> 00:07:17,700 they offer strong two factor authentication or two F a like authenticator apps. 131 00:07:17,700 --> 00:07:19,220 Yep. D O T P authenticator apps, 132 00:07:19,220 --> 00:07:24,300 but also the really strong hardware keys using web often or FIDO standards, 133 00:07:24,300 --> 00:07:27,900 things like Yubi keys or even biometrics on your phone or computer. 134 00:07:27,900 --> 00:07:29,620 So even if someone gets your password, 135 00:07:29,620 --> 00:07:31,860 they can't log in without that second factor. 136 00:07:32,060 --> 00:07:36,500 That's robust. And just to clarify these aliases, they stick around, right? 137 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:39,700 They're not like those disposable 10 minute email things. Correct. 138 00:07:39,700 --> 00:07:43,620 Aliases are permanent unless you actively decide to disable or delete one. 139 00:07:43,620 --> 00:07:47,740 And critically simple login itself doesn't store the content of your emails. 140 00:07:47,740 --> 00:07:51,580 They just pass through their system for forwarding and are never stored on their 141 00:07:51,580 --> 00:07:53,820 servers. Okay. That's a really important privacy point. 142 00:07:53,820 --> 00:07:58,160 So the hosted service sounds great, but you mentioned self-hosting. 143 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,380 That sounds potentially complicated, but also intriguing. 144 00:08:01,420 --> 00:08:03,140 Why would someone go down that route? 145 00:08:03,140 --> 00:08:07,820 Yeah, it's definitely more involved, but the appeal is ultimate control. 146 00:08:07,820 --> 00:08:12,860 When you self-host, you run the entire simple login service on your own server, 147 00:08:12,860 --> 00:08:16,700 all your data, all the infrastructure, it's completely under your management. 148 00:08:16,700 --> 00:08:21,260 It aligns perfectly with the open source idea, total digital sovereignty. 149 00:08:21,260 --> 00:08:22,700 Ultimate control. Okay. 150 00:08:22,700 --> 00:08:25,180 But you said it might be accessible even for beginners. 151 00:08:25,180 --> 00:08:26,340 That seems contradictory. 152 00:08:26,340 --> 00:08:28,740 Well, beginner might need a slight asterisk, 153 00:08:28,780 --> 00:08:33,140 like maybe someone comfortable with the command line using SSH to connect to a 154 00:08:33,140 --> 00:08:37,020 server, but simple login provides really detailed documentation. 155 00:08:37,020 --> 00:08:41,500 And the key thing is they used other containers. Ah, Docker. 156 00:08:41,500 --> 00:08:43,420 I keep hearing about that. It makes things easier. 157 00:08:43,420 --> 00:08:45,420 Massively easier in this context. 158 00:08:45,420 --> 00:08:48,380 Think of Docker as providing pre-packaged boxes, 159 00:08:48,380 --> 00:08:52,140 each containing one piece of the puzzle, the database, the mail server software, 160 00:08:52,140 --> 00:08:53,700 the simple login web app itself. 161 00:08:53,700 --> 00:08:56,860 You don't have to manually install and configure all those complex pieces 162 00:08:56,860 --> 00:09:00,180 individually. Docker manages running them in these isolated containers 163 00:09:00,180 --> 00:09:03,460 that are designed to work together. It streamlines the setup enormously. 164 00:09:03,460 --> 00:09:07,180 Okay. So Docker simplifies it. If someone wanted to try this, 165 00:09:07,180 --> 00:09:11,140 run their own private alias service, what are the main ingredients they'd need? 166 00:09:11,140 --> 00:09:14,620 Just high level. Sure. High level. You'd need one, a server, 167 00:09:14,620 --> 00:09:18,820 basically a computer running Linux like Ubuntu that's online two, four, seven, 168 00:09:18,820 --> 00:09:22,420 needs a bit of memory, maybe two GB of Ram to be safe. 169 00:09:22,740 --> 00:09:27,740 And you need certain network ports open like doorways for email to come in and 170 00:09:27,740 --> 00:09:32,780 out and for you to access the web interface to your own domain name. 171 00:09:32,780 --> 00:09:33,700 This is pretty essential. 172 00:09:33,700 --> 00:09:37,980 You'll use it for your aliases like anything at your domain.com and also for the 173 00:09:37,980 --> 00:09:40,900 web address where you log in to manage your self-hosted simple login. 174 00:09:40,900 --> 00:09:43,540 Got it. Server domain name. What else? 175 00:09:43,540 --> 00:09:46,100 Three DNS setup sounds technical, 176 00:09:46,100 --> 00:09:49,380 but it's just about telling the internet how to handle mail and web traffic for 177 00:09:49,380 --> 00:09:53,060 your domain. You need an MX record that tells other mail servers, 178 00:09:53,060 --> 00:09:56,420 send email for this domain over here to my simple login server. 179 00:09:56,420 --> 00:09:59,780 Like the post office knowing which building to deliver mail to. 180 00:09:59,780 --> 00:10:00,940 Exactly. 181 00:10:00,940 --> 00:10:05,460 Then A record points the web address for your simple login interface to your 182 00:10:05,460 --> 00:10:07,220 server's specific IP address. 183 00:10:07,220 --> 00:10:11,740 And finally some important ones for making sure your emails actually get delivered 184 00:10:11,740 --> 00:10:16,540 and aren't marked as spam. DKIM, SPF, and DMRC. 185 00:10:17,300 --> 00:10:20,700 Think of these as digital signatures and rules that prove emails coming from your 186 00:10:20,700 --> 00:10:23,100 domain are legitimate and haven't been faked. 187 00:10:23,100 --> 00:10:28,340 Okay. So server domain DNS rules for delivery and trust and Docker helps run 188 00:10:28,340 --> 00:10:29,460 the actual software. 189 00:10:29,460 --> 00:10:32,780 Precisely. Docker runs all the necessary background bits. 190 00:10:32,780 --> 00:10:37,220 You'll typically use Postgres as the database to store alias information and 191 00:10:37,220 --> 00:10:40,900 Postfix as the mail server software that actually handles sending and receiving 192 00:10:40,900 --> 00:10:41,740 the emails. 193 00:10:41,740 --> 00:10:44,820 Simple login itself runs as a few different Docker containers, 194 00:10:45,180 --> 00:10:49,060 one for the web app, one to handle incoming emails, one for background tasks. 195 00:10:49,060 --> 00:10:51,900 And often you'll use something like Nyang's as a front door, 196 00:10:51,900 --> 00:10:55,580 a web server that directs traffic to your simple login web app and handles 197 00:10:55,580 --> 00:10:57,780 secure connections using SSL certificates. 198 00:10:57,780 --> 00:11:00,580 That still sounds like a few moving parts when you list them out. 199 00:11:00,580 --> 00:11:02,060 It is, but honestly, 200 00:11:02,060 --> 00:11:05,460 the Docker setup and the guides make it much more manageable than trying to 201 00:11:05,460 --> 00:11:08,220 install all that from scratch. It's designed to be runnable. 202 00:11:08,220 --> 00:11:10,180 And once you are set up, 203 00:11:10,180 --> 00:11:14,500 a neat trick for self-hosters is you can actually disable new user registrations. 204 00:11:14,820 --> 00:11:19,500 So it becomes your own truly private alias service just for you or maybe your 205 00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:23,340 family. Locking it down. Nice touch. Yeah. So putting it all together, 206 00:11:23,340 --> 00:11:26,980 simple login really does feel like the most advanced alias solution out there 207 00:11:26,980 --> 00:11:29,740 right now. It's fully open source top to bottom. 208 00:11:29,740 --> 00:11:32,260 Which builds that trust we talked about. Exactly. 209 00:11:32,260 --> 00:11:36,620 And that unique ability to self-host is huge for people who want that level of 210 00:11:36,620 --> 00:11:41,220 control. Plus on the hosted plan, the limits are generous, but self-hosted, 211 00:11:41,700 --> 00:11:46,620 no limits on forwards, sends, bandwidth, nothing. And no ads, no trackers, 212 00:11:46,620 --> 00:11:48,700 which you'd expect. Absolutely essential. 213 00:11:48,700 --> 00:11:52,660 It even acts as a privacy respecting way to log into other services and 214 00:11:52,660 --> 00:11:54,900 alternative to log in with Google. 215 00:11:54,900 --> 00:11:58,220 And they're looking beyond just email talking about potentially adding phone 216 00:11:58,220 --> 00:12:01,140 number and maybe even credit card masking in the future. 217 00:12:01,140 --> 00:12:05,340 So bringing it back to the listener, what does this all boil down to for you? 218 00:12:05,340 --> 00:12:09,860 It really means you can start taking back control of that core online identifier 219 00:12:09,860 --> 00:12:11,620 for your email, less spam, 220 00:12:11,620 --> 00:12:15,580 better protection against data breaches and just more genuine privacy online. 221 00:12:15,580 --> 00:12:18,140 It's a practical tool for that. And it's worth remembering. 222 00:12:18,140 --> 00:12:20,260 Simple login is made by Proton AG, 223 00:12:20,260 --> 00:12:22,900 the same folks behind Proton mail based in Switzerland. 224 00:12:22,900 --> 00:12:25,140 Privacy is kind of in their DNA. 225 00:12:25,140 --> 00:12:28,780 Definitely. And maybe a final thought to leave you with, 226 00:12:28,780 --> 00:12:31,340 just take a moment and think about how many websites, 227 00:12:31,340 --> 00:12:35,300 how many services have your real email address right now? Hundreds, 228 00:12:35,300 --> 00:12:37,980 maybe thousands. Yeah, probably more than I realized. 229 00:12:38,020 --> 00:12:39,860 So what would it actually feel like? 230 00:12:39,860 --> 00:12:44,660 What would it mean for your digital footprint if you could manage every single 231 00:12:44,660 --> 00:12:48,060 one of those connections individually? Set up the link whenever you wanted. 232 00:12:48,060 --> 00:12:51,260 That is a powerful thought. Moving from leaving your address everywhere, 233 00:12:51,260 --> 00:12:55,140 to handing out specific keys you control. A big shift. 234 00:12:55,140 --> 00:12:58,180 Well, thank you for joining us on this deep dive into simple login. 235 00:12:58,180 --> 00:13:00,940 If any of this sparked your interest protecting your email, 236 00:13:00,940 --> 00:13:02,580 maybe even tinkering with self-hosting, 237 00:13:02,580 --> 00:13:04,420 it's definitely something worth checking out further. 238 00:13:04,580 --> 00:13:08,020 And remember this exploration was supported by Safe Server. 239 00:13:08,020 --> 00:13:11,900 If you're looking for reliable hosting solutions or support on your digital 240 00:13:11,900 --> 00:13:16,020 journey, you can find them at www.safeserver.de. 241 00:13:16,020 --> 00:13:19,500 We appreciate their support. We'll be back soon with another deep dive. 242 00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:22,980 What topics are on your mind? What should we explore next? Let us know.