The Silent Channel: Privacy-Focused Email for Small Businesses

~ Tom's IT Cafe

“If your words pass through the wrong gate, they’re no longer yours.”
– DeadSwitch

Email is the first window into your system.
It’s the trailhead of phishing, leaks, impersonation, and silent watchers.
Yet most small businesses still shout through the loudest gates :: Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo.

The servers scan. The ads personalize.
The watchers smile.

You need a quieter way.

What Should a Business Email Be?

  • Encrypted
  • Auditable
  • Private by design, not policy
  • Under your control: or under someone you trust

Self-Hosted Solutions (The Full Control Path)

If you want the keys and the locks :: run your own server.

  • Mailcow
    Dockerized, beautiful, secure. Built on Postfix/Dovecot/Rspamd.
    Manage domains, spam filters, DKIM, DMARC.
    For those who want power: without scripts from 2003.
  • Mail-in-a-Box
    Simple setup. Great for smaller tech teams.
    DNS, HTTPS, webmail: all in one.
  • Modoboa
    Modular, modern, Postfix-based. Good for multi-user setups with dashboards.

💡 Requires: VPS or server, DNS knowledge, time to maintain.

Hosted Solutions (Privacy Without the Pain)

If you’d rather someone else run the engine :: choose someone trustworthy.

  • ProtonMail
    End-to-end encryption. Swiss-based.
    Can use your domain. Open source front-end, auditable, transparent.
  • Mailbox.org
    German provider. PGP integration, calendar, office tools. Strong stance on privacy.
  • Tutanota
    Fully encrypted, based in Germany. Open source, zero tracking.
    Their custom domain setup is solid and simple.
  • Posteo
    No ads. No tracking. No logs. €1/month. Hardcore on ethical standards.

Add Layers to Protect the Channel

  • GnuPG (GPG) – Encrypt messages. Authenticate senders.
  • DKIM + SPF + DMARC – Protect your domain from being spoofed.
  • Aliases / Forwarders – Use tools like SimpleLogin or Anonyome to mask real addresses.
  • Thunderbird + Enigmail / K-9 Mail – Use email clients that support encryption natively.

The Exit From Noise

You don’t need to shout into data mines.
You don’t need to trust closed gates with open eyes.

If your team needs help picking the gatekeeper…
If the configuration pages look like arcane runes…
DeadSwitch listens.
Whisper on Element: @deadswitch:matrix.org
Sometimes…
Silence answers.

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