.

[Christine]

That's not a bad price for a year. I forget how much my configuration costs me, I think a tenner for the domain, then another tenner to host its DNS and backup MX and stuff (though that also includes a website and the usual accoutrements), then the rest of the cost is just the usual DSL and some relatively inexpensive hardware to run a server: CPU requirements are scant, it needs no fancy graphics, it uses an array of cheap 400 GB HDDs and I use FreeBSD for its operating system. The main outlay is my time to keep it up to date, especially as the software is a little tangled: it's based around Postfix for the mail server, Cyrus for mail storage and SpamAssassin for filtering out junk. I guess I like to tinker with stuff, as frustrating as it often is, though it is quite useful being able to have anything@mydomain.com as an email address.

Being away from home is more of a challenge, though. I've just been experimenting with remote access (just basic ssh stuff, I'm too paranoid about security to enable anything more fancy), though obviously it means I'll need to leave it switched on when I'm away.

[ShawBee]

actually, ive bought a domain for 1 year which i can set up 5 mailboxes for. £4.60 is more than affordable for me. think ive goot the cheepest name i could go for. even if i have addtional usage charges, depending on what they are, even it it goes to £20 for the year, its still cheaper than building my own mail server. inexpensive is relative to ones income, 20quid is well worth the agg of not having to get my head round linux, let alone the additional programs to set the beggar up, let alone the hair pulling when a problem occurs, ive got a very cost effective solution. i am hiddem from the 'Whois' list and my details will not be sold on to other companies.

[Christine]

Yeah, avoiding the frustration of learning Unix and often worse when it comes to the extras is worth it, I think (I still shudder at the memory of trying to figure out sendmail: it might be standard, but it's absolutely horrible! ) I do like to tinker, but even as a cynical old sysadmin I sometimes have to question my sanity!

Whois anonymity is a good thing, and the .com domains are a lot better than the tedious and pedantic Nominet who won't give even private owners proper anonymity for .co.uk domains.

[Ice Maiden]

It is not the domain or even your own server it is the net itself that is monitored. So between you and the destination it has to pass through the hands of others and they see it!

[Christine]

It is not the domain or even your own server it is the net itself that is monitored. So between you and the destination it has to pass through the hands of others and they see it!

I avoid the risks of eavesdropping by talking total rubbish most of the time.