Gmail closes door on NSA; all email now encrypted

Remember when Google engineer Brandon Downey told the NSA to "&^%$ Off!"?


That may now be official Google Policy. Gmail has announced that they are "staying at the forefront of email security and reliability" by using an encrypted HTTPS connection when you check or send email. The fact that the option to turn off HTTPS will no longer be available - will further help users thwart the prying eyes of any number of would be snoopers.

According to the recent blog post, Gmail says that they have supported HTTPS since the day it launched, and in 2010 they made HTTPS the default. Today's change means that no one can listen in on your messages as they go back and forth between you and Gmail’s servers—no matter if you're using public WiFi or logging in from your computer, phone or tablet.

In addition, every single email message you send or receive—100% of them—is encrypted while moving internally. This ensures that your messages are safe not only when they move between you and Gmail's servers, but also as they move between Google's data centers—something we made a top priority after last summer’s revelations.

Of course, being able to access your email is just as important as keeping it safe and secure. In 2013, Gmail was available 99.978% of the time, which averages to less than two hours of disruption for a user for the entire year.

Any agency requesting information through legal means would have access through the still open 'legal window' - regardless if the 'door' has been shut....so don't plan on getting rich by building silkroad@gmail.com or the like.....