For reasons that will become obvious in a moment, I’m in the market for a free, encrypted email program that is easy to install and use. Maybe the servers should be offshore, too—I hear the European Community has a commitment to privacy that sadly lacking under the outlaw Bush regime. Here’s what Consumer Reports has to say:

[T]here’s the possibility that your Web and e-mail history can end up in the hands of third parties. Out in cyberspace, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and many commercial Web sites can keep records of pages you visit or access old Web page content stored in “temporary” directories on your hard drive. So could identity thieves, who may try to use your Internet connection to scour those directories for personal information such as Social Security numbers, billing information and passwords.

ANONYMOUS E-MAIL: Most of the well regarded services (www.hushmail.com, http://www.ziplip.com/, www.s-mail.com and www.cryptomail.org) offer free versions, then more options with paid subscriptions. One, MuteMail (www.mutemail.com), starts at $14.95 a month.

Alas, Yahoo just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Especially since they opened their back doors to Bush, as Google, to its credit, has not done (or so they say).

In any case, Crypotnomicon fans, it’s all coming true faster than you think.

Readers, suggestions?