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'{{Short description|Free disposable email address service}} {{use dmy dates |date=July 2023}} '''Guerrilla Mail''' is a free [[disposable email address]] service launched in 2006. Visitors are automatically assigned a random email address upon visiting the site. == Features == Guerrilla Mail randomly generates disposable email addresses.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Greenberg |first1=Andy |title=How to Anonymize Everything You Do Online |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/06/be-anonymous-online/ |date=June 17, 2014 |access-date=17 October 2014 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |publisher=Condé Nast|ref=wired}}</ref> Disposable email addresses may be used as a means of [[Anti-spam techniques#Disposable email addresses|spam prevention]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |title=How to Avoid Spam—Using Disposable Contact Information |language=en-us |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/avoid-spam-disposable-email-burner-phone-number/ |access-date=2021-02-11 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> They may also be used if the user does not wish to give a real email, for example if they fear a data breach. Emails sent to addresses are kept for one hour before deletion. The site offers some choice of email domain names.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Get a Free One-Hour Email Address with Guerrilla Mail |url=https://lifehacker.com/get-a-free-one-hour-email-address-with-guerrilla-mail-5852413 |access-date=2021-02-11 |website=Lifehacker |date=22 October 2011 |language=en-us}}</ref> == History == Guerrilla Mail was founded in 2006, in [[Chicago]].<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last1=Somerville |first1=Heather |date=2014-09-27 |title=Tech responds to growing calls for Internet anonymity |work=[[The Mercury News]] |publisher=Digital First Media |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/09/27/tech-responds-to-growing-calls-for-internet-anonymity/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430075521/https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/09/27/tech-responds-to-growing-calls-for-internet-anonymity/ |url-status=live |access-date=17 October 2014 |archive-date=30 April 2017 |ref=mercury}}</ref> Privacy-centered services saw an up-tick in public interest after the [[Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)|global surveillance disclosures beginning in 2013]], especially concerning attention brought to materials leaked by [[Edward Snowden]]. According to ''[[The Mercury News]]'' in 2014, "[Guerrilla Mail] has done nearly half of its business in the past year".<ref name=":1" /> In December 2013, a [[Harvard College]] sophomore and [[Quincy House (Harvard)|Quincy House]] resident Eldo Kim used Guerrilla Mail to send a bomb threat to offices associated with [[Harvard University|Harvard]], including the [[Harvard University]] Police Department and ''[[The Harvard Crimson]]'', in order to delay a final exam.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/17/justice/massachusetts-harvard-hoax/ |title=Harvard student Eldo Kim charged in final-exam bomb hoax |date=18 December 2013|work=[[CNN]] |ref=cnn}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/12/17/student-charged-bomb-threat/|title=Harvard Sophomore Charged in Bomb Threat|last=Fandos|first=Nicholas P.|date=December 17, 2013|work=[[The Harvard Crimson]]|access-date=17 October 2014|ref=crimson}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Harvard student made bomb threats to get out of exam, cops say|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harvard-student-made-bomb-threats-to-get-out-of-exam-cops-say/|access-date=2021-02-11|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=17 December 2013 |language=en-US}}</ref> It was alleged in an affidavit that the student accessed Guerrilla Mail through [[Tor (anonymity network)|Tor]], a fact that might've been given away in the [[IP address]] present in the email header.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eldo Kim Charged in Bomb Threat Case, Unlikely To Get Jail Time {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/10/11/eldo-kim-charged-diversion/|access-date=2021-02-11|website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Brandom|first=Russell|date=2013-12-18|title=FBI agents tracked Harvard bomb threats despite Tor|url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/18/5224130/fbi-agents-tracked-harvard-bomb-threats-across-tor|access-date=2021-02-11|website=The Verge|language=en}}</ref> In June 2017, it was revealed through court documents that the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] used a [[social engineering (security)|social engineering]] technique known as [[phishing]] to target a Guerrilla Mail user. The case was unique, as it was the "first public example of the feds using a controversial update to a law allowing searches on users of anonymizing tools like Tor".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2017/06/13/mail-bomb-buyer-busted-on-dark-web/#2ad561cceead|title=How The FBI Hacked A Dark Web Shopper Plotting A Mail Bomb Hit|last=Fox-Brewster|first=Thomas|date=June 13, 2017|work=[[Forbes]]|access-date=17 June 2017|ref=forbes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=In The Matter Of The Search Of: The Use Of A Network Investigative Technique For A Computer Accessing Email Account|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3863681-Use-of-a-Network-Investigative-Technique-for-a.html#document/p2|access-date=17 June 2017|website=[[DocumentCloud]]}}</ref> As of November 4, 2020, Guerrilla Mail stated on Twitter that their site had been taken down by their hosting provider, OVHCloud, due to a law enforcement request which OVHCloud refused to provide details about.<ref>{{Cite tweet|user=GuerrillaMail|number=1324190197580328961|date=4 November 2020|title=It looks like or hosting provider, @OVHcloud, decided to shut down our services. The reason was that they received a law enforcement request (which they didn't forward to us, and refuse to share details about)|access-date=12 November 2020}}</ref> The site has since been reinstated. However, as of September 11, 2024 sending email from Guerilla Mail is once again suspended. Visitors receive the same message "sending mail has been suspended for today", but today continues indefinitely. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[https://www.guerrillamail.com GuerrillaMail.com] [[Category:Internet properties established in 2006]] [[Category:2006 establishments in Illinois]] [[Category:Open source projects]] [[Category:Free software webmail]]'