In this section of The Lair!, I aim to present a collection of tips & shortcuts that you can employ when using your Amiga (on and off the 'net) to improve your productivity. Please help me to expand on this project by mailing me with all the little short-cuts you use and I'll post them here.

Anonymous E-mail

Anonymous e-mail is something we would all like to employ at some time or another. There are many people who are genuinly concerned about their security and privacy on the Internet, or you might be the one and only fan of Barry Manilow (I know you're out there somewhere) and wish to defend him in a music newsgroup, or whatever - the simple fact is, that anonymous e-mail does have its uses. The trouble is, many users simply don't have a clue how to go about it!

There are a number of anonymous re-mailers on the 'net, which will forward your mail on to its intended recipient after stripping out all references to your URL and e-mail address. The most commonly used server is that at anon.penet.fi. Here's how you use it:

  • Write the mail and address it to anon@anon.penet.fi
  • The very first line in the mail body must read: X-Anon-To: [address] (where "[address]" is either the e-mail address of the recipient or the name of the UseNet news-group.
  • Enter a blank line next, then type the message you want to send. Take Care: There is no point going to all this trouble if your mailer automatically tags a signature on to the mail - ensure that there is no signature!
  • Send the mail.
When you first use this system you'll receive a message from the server which assigns you a unique identification (eg: re123456), this is the only identification that readers of your article/mail will see. If anyone sends mail to that identification (eg: re123456@anon.penet.fi), the server will automatically forward it to your e-mail address.

The next step is for you to set a password for your anonymous postings (this extra security measure ensures that no-one can establish who is the actual sender). To do this, send e-mail to password@anon.penet.fi with the password you require in the message body. When this password has been accepted, you can then use the system to post/mail with total (and secure) anonymity to anon@anon.penet.fi. The top of each message you send via the system should look like this:

X-Anon-To: [address or newsgroup]
X-Anon-Password: [your password]
[this line MUST be blank]
[message body ...]

As a further refinement, you can assign yourself a nickname (which, of course, should not be the same as the one you usually go by) which will be used in place of your code name. To do this, send e-mail to nick@anon.penet.fi with the nick' you want to use in the Subject field.

Give it try, mail me with your anonymous message: bluey@bigfoot.com

You won't end up beating the dog with The Lair!'s "Amiga Tips".

Navigation:
Home
Contents