Windows 10: Criptext is a free encrypted email service with open source apps for Windows, Linux, macOS,...

Criptext is a free encrypted email service for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS. It has been around for a while, but I thought it may be worth looking into.



Before we get started, allow me to say that this article isn't about Criptext vs Protonmail, so we're not going to discuss which one's better. It's about what Criptext has to offer.

The applications for Criptext are open-source, but the servers are not. Then again neither is Protonmail's. (Okay, I know I just said I won't compare the two, but this is the only time I do it in the article).

Signal Protocol


There is something you should know about Criptext. It is not cloud-based like Gmail or Outlook; Criptext emails are not stored on servers permanently, they are only stored on your device using end-to-end encryption. It uses the Signal Protocol for this.

How does this work? According to the official documentation, Criptext passes the mail through their server for a moment and it's deleted once the mail is delivered. The only exception to this is when the message is un-deliverable; say when the recipient's device is offline. The email is stored on the server until it is delivered in this case. If it isn't delivered within 30 days, it's deleted from the server as well.

Encrypted mails


Criptext says that every email is encrypted with a unique key. Attachments are encrypted as well; they are stored on Criptext's Amazon Web Services servers though the encryption keys for those are saved on user devices.

The important thing to note here is that the service only encrypts mails sent by one Criptext user to another. So, if you use it to send mails to other services (Gmail, Outlook, etc), those will not be encrypted.

Tip: You can tell whether an email is encrypted or not, by looking for the padlock icon. If it has one, it's encrypted.

How to sign up for Criptext


You need to install the desktop program or the mobile app and use it to sign up. Once you do, the application begins creating the encryption/decryption keys for your account on your device.

Note: While signing up for an account, you can optionally enter a recovery email address. This is only required to reset the password of your account.

Testing the sign in process


Since the account credentials part is not cloud based, I wanted to see how I could sign in to an existing account on a new device. So, I disabled the internet on my laptop and tried to sign in to the same account on my phone. The mobile app prompted me to use the desktop client to approve the sign in, but it did offer an option to sign in with my password. Because I was testing the service, I used the desktop app's approval method to sign in. And it synced the account to my phone. This was unusual, but works fine.





Warning: Using a password to sign in will not sync the existing mailbox (from another device) to the new device. That's because the decryption keys for the older mails are stored on the other device.



Criptext's Special Features

Syncing the mailbox




Criptext syncs the mailbox between devices, so if you send an email from your phone, it will sync it to your desktop program's sent folder (and vice-versa). Incoming emails are delivered to all devices. You can use it to sync up to 10 devices. Attachments have a 25MB size-limit, but there are no limits for the number of attachments.

Unsend an email


You can unsend an email that you sent to a contact; you have up to 60 minutes for this. While I like the Unsend mail feature, I feel having a one-hour limit is a bit much. Also, this works only if the email has not been read already.

Email Tracking à la Read Receipts




Read receipts are supported in Criptext, i.e., you can tell when the recipient has opened your mail.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of this. The recipient deserves a bit of privacy too, fortunately you can turn off "Read Receipts" from the Settings. Doing so will also disable read receipts for mails that you send to others. I initially thought the mail service uses a header or something for this, but I'm quite certain that this feature is available because Criptext uses the Signal Protocol (which is intended for instant messaging).

Backup


You can backup your mailbox locally on the device or store it in the cloud manually. The backup is encrypted with a passphrase that you specify.

Two-factor authentication


Enabling this will require you to enter the password on your next sign-in, and approve it from a device that you're already signed in to.

For more information, you should read the official FAQ and Privacy Policy.

The reason I haven't reviewed the desktop mail client is because it's nothing special, it looks and functions like your average mail client.

Closing Words


On paper the service looks great; it's nice to have such privacy friendly platforms. But with all that being said, I don't think Criptext isn't for casual users. Why? Well, it can't encrypt mails that you send to mail addresses belonging to other services. The privacy/security that encryption provides are its primary feature. So, unless you manage to convince people to shift to Criptext, you're probably not going to be using it every day. And that's not going to be easy as people will opt for convenience over privacy, which is a sad story in itself.



Criptext


For Windows

Download Now


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We've also continued our efforts with LunarG who is today releasing a corresponding update to deliver macOS support to the Vulkan SDK. Also as a result of that work, Dota 2 will soon be updated to target Vulkan on macOS. It's been almost four years since we started contributing to Vulkan's goal of becoming a cross platform solution. With support for Windows, Linux, and Android crossed off the list, this latest set of updates checks off one of the largest remaining targets, giving developers an easy yet robust way to also target their Vulkan-based engines and titles to run on macOS and iOS. By making the code to MoltenVK freely available and open-source, the goal is to enable developers to bring their games to macOS and iOS with minimal development cost.









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Microsoft Joins the Linux Foundation

On Wednesday, during its annual Connect(); developer event, Microsoft Corp. unveiled a series of products and partnerships that strengthen the company's Azure cloud platform for building intelligent, cross-platform apps and services. Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise Executive Vice President Scott Guthrie detailed significant steps Microsoft is taking to empower the ecosystem by giving developers greater choice in the tools they use - including joining the Linux Foundation as a Platinum Member to better collaborate with the open source community, welcoming Google to the independent .NET Foundation, and working with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to enable .NET developers to build apps for more than 50 million Samsung devices worldwide.

Guthrie also demonstrated a preview of Visual Studio for Mac, which enables developers to write cloud, mobile and macOS apps on Apple's Mac operating system using the popular development environment; a preview of the next version of the company's flagship SQL Server database with support for Linux, Linux-based Docker containers and Windows-based environments; and a preview of Azure App Service on Linux with support for containers.





"We want to help developers achieve more and capitalize on the industry's shift toward cloud-first and mobile-first experiences using the tools and platforms of their choice," Guthrie said. "By collaborating with the community to provide open, flexible and intelligent tools and cloud services, we're helping every developer deliver unprecedented levels of innovation."

Collaborating with the community
As part of its effort to work more closely with the open source community, Microsoft on Wednesday announced it has joined the Linux Foundation as a Platinum Member. Microsoft's membership in the Linux Foundation will benefit customers through increased collaboration and innovation among a diverse ecosystem.

"By becoming a Linux Foundation Platinum member, Microsoft is better able to collaborate with the open source community to deliver transformative mobile and cloud experiences to more people," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of The Linux Foundation. "Microsoft has been a key contributor to many projects, and we see the company intensifying its involvement and commitment to open development."

Microsoft has become an active member of the open source community in part through the popularity of its open source and cross-platform application framework .NET Core. Wednesday's addition of Google to the .NET Foundation's Technical Steering Group further reinforces the vibrancy of the .NET developer community as well as Google's commitment to fostering an open platform that supports businesses and developers who have standardized on .NET.

Other industry leaders are also betting on .NET Core for their own commercial products. On Wednesday Samsung is releasing a preview of its Visual Studio Tools for Tizen. Developers can use the tools to build .NET apps for the Tizen operating system that runs on millions of Samsung TVs, wearables, mobile devices and many IoT devices around the world.

Tools for any developer on any platform
Microsoft highlighted several announcements Wednesday aimed at helping developers use the tools of their choice to create Android, iOS and Windows apps powered by Linux or Windows Server, including the following:

• The SQL Server on Linux public preview released Wednesday is the first preview of the next version of SQL Server and brings the power of SQL Server to Linux and Linux-based Docker containers, in addition to Windows.
• A new Visual Studio for Mac preview provides a macOS-based integrated development environment designed for building mobile, cloud and macOS apps.
• The availability of Azure App Service on Linux with support for Containers in preview provides native Linux support for Node.js and PHP stacks on Azure App Service and now enables developers to bring their own Docker-formatted container image.

Enabling better apps through the intelligent cloud
Today's most impactful apps are using data to delight users and drive business outcomes. Microsoft today unveiled unique capabilities and services that make it easier for more developers to turn massive amounts of data into deeply personal, intelligent and predictive applications.

• SQL Server 2016 Service Pack 1 availability makes database innovations accessible to more applications across product editions.
• The availability of Azure Data Lake services, Azure Data Lake Analytics and Data Lake Store means developers and data scientists now have the capabilities required to easily store and process data at petabyte size files, with massively parallel analytics and enterprise-grade security for insights on data of any size, shape and speed.

Improving the end-to-end developer experience
Microsoft's solutions evolve with changing developer needs. Through the Visual Studio family, SQL Server, Windows, Office and Azure, Microsoft is working to provide the most complete platform for application innovation, spanning mobile and cloud.

• The Visual Studio Mobile Center preview announced Wednesday brings together the cloud and life-cycle services that help developers build, test, distribute and monitor apps built in Objective-C, Swift, Java, Xamarin and React Native for Android-, iOS- and Windows-based devices.
• The Visual Studio 2017 release candidate released Wednesday includes new capabilities to help any developer be more productive than ever for any application and any platform.
• Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2017 and Azure Application Insights are now available, providing an enhanced collaboration and DevOps platform for cloud- first, mobile-first scenarios.

"Microsoft is transforming the nature of its appeal to developers by broadening its supported platforms," said Al Hilwa, research director for Software Development research at IDC. "The new partnerships and commitments allow Microsoft to meet developers where they are and multiply its reach and impact with mobile and cloud developers as well as become established in emerging areas such as IoT, data science and cognitive computing."