| anonymous remailer
An anonymous remailer is a computer
that strips away identifying information (such as your email address)
before passing your message on to an email address or a newsgroup. When
you send mail using a remailer, the From: field of your message becomes a
made-up address like 12xyx@remailer.com.
There are actually two kinds of
services called anonymous remailers. The first is truly anonymous: no one
anywhere knows your identity. With the second, called pseudo-anonymous or
sometimes pseudonymous, the owner of the service knows your identity and
can be forced in a court of law to reveal it. Most truly anonymous
services are free (it's difficult to bill an unknown, unnamed client), but
they often require some skill and effort to use. Many pseudo-anonymous
services charge a fee, but are more user-friendly. |