A Nym Remailer is a pseudonymisierender Remailer, which kryptierte or unencrypted message assumes, anonymizated and passes on.

Alternative designations are "“Nym server"” or "“alias server"” (English also "“pseudonymous servers"” and "“pseudonymous more remailer"”). Nym is also an abbreviation for alias.

General information

In contrast to Cypherpunk and Mixmaster Remailern it permits the Nym server to send despite unawareness of the original sender of a message, this answering. The service makes thus bi-directional communication possible, with which in extreme cases none has the communication partner knowledge of the identity of the other one.

The Nym server removes, just as other Remailer, from the received enamels all header information, which permits conclusions on the sender. Instead of its own standard address he registers however a stored and to the sender assigned alias address in the sender field.

Answers to kind of such pseudonymisierte E-Mail are sent to this address and passed on by the Nym server the genuine receiver. How the Remailer manages the allocation from material senders to the aliases, decides on the security of the mechanism.

Function mode today usual Nym server

The fact causes the crucial attraction of the current Nym servers that the operators of these services cannot even determine the identity of their users. This circumstance is reached, by each exchange with the Nym server, astonishing first - also the registration of a new alias address, by means of concatenated Cypherpunk or Mixmaster Remailer takes place.

In order to set detailed E-Mail aliases for the receiver, the Nym server stores additionally information to one or more Remailer chains, which originally the user for communication with the server selects. In order to bring such a message on the way to the waiting receiver, it is sufficient for the Nym server to know the first Remailer of one of these chains. All following are coded and remain also for the Nym server hidden.

Due to the varying reliability of many Remailer, these Remailer chains must be frequently adapted. The care of a so-called Nym account is therefore. For exactly this reason many comfortable Remailer Client programs developed, which particularly take care of the configuration and additional manipulation of an Nym account.

Beginnings: The Penet Remailer

The first publicly attainable alias Remailer was operated by Johan Helsingius. Helsingius made its service available starting from 1993 on anon.penet.fi.

Function mode and weakness of the pseudoanonymous Penet Remailers

The Penet server was based on some Perlskripten. The service was to each Internet user at the disposal. E-Mail, which reached Penet, was entpersonalisiert and as senders appeared anonNNNN@anon.penet.fi (N is any number.). Helsingius' Remailer stored the alias anonNNNN together with the original E-Mail address in a data base. On the way back thus E-Mail, which was addressed to an alias, could be led also the genuine address. However the data base is also the weak point of this Remailer type, because it is theoretically possible to later bring E-Mail traffic with material persons in connection.

Attacks against the server

Already soon Helsingius got various inquiries to material return addresses. After 1995 an internal paper of the Scientology sect company over Penet had been gepostet into the newsgroup old religion Scientology sect, Scientology sect, judicially, began - however to a large extent unsuccessful to proceed against Helsingius.

of the British newspaper Observer (1996), over the server was gepostet child pornography, could be disproved fast, because the system did not let files in the size of the allegedly published photos happen at all (maximally 15K).

In the long run decided a Finnish court, the secrecy of letters applies not to E-Mail. This and continuous attacks from the Internet brought Johan Helsingius finally to finally take the server from the net to.

See also

• Remailer, mix master Remailer, Cypherpunk Remailer, Mixminion
• Anonymity in the Internet, Anonymizer
• Gate

Literature

• Email Security, Bruce Schneier (ISBN 047105318X)
• Computer Privacy Handbook, Andre Bacard (ISBN 1566091713)

Related links

• Press release for locking
• Article in the time to Helsingius
• A of remailer FAQ
• Remailer Vulnerabilities
• Mix master & Remailer Attacks
• Information plates for the Panta Rhei Nym server
• Reliably mailen over AnonMail

Articles in category "Nym Remailer"

We found here 17 articles.

Related Websites

We found here 4 related websites.

• APAS Anonymous Remailer Use [FAQ 7/8]: Nyms
  Each of the nym servers has a separate email address that responds to remailer-key requests. Send a blank email message to an address like this: ...


• AppleScripts to automate nym usage
  This AppleScript is designed to decrypt email messages that have been sent by -- a NYM remailer using PGP and passed through multiple PGP remailers before ...


• Nym creation and use for mere mortals
  When you establish your nym, you'll tell nym.alias.net which remailer(s) to use when sending your mail to you. You can change this information later if, ...


• Smart Computing Article - Who Said That
  Nym Servers To Receive Replies: Walter corresponds using a nym remailer. None of the remailers know that Walter and superfly are the same person. ...