Runbox now supports Forward Secrecy

October 1, 2013 4 Comments

In recent weeks there has been some discussion in news outlets about SSL/TLS, which is used by many websites to encrypt the data being transferred between web servers and web browsers.

Since it’s theoretically possible for outsiders to break such encryption, an increasing number of people are requesting improved encryption methods.

What is SSL/TLS?

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and its successor TLS (Transport Layer Security) are cryptographic methods used to secure communication on the Internet. By using pairs of private and public keys, the web server and the client can securely encrypt and decrypt the data being transferred between two parties.

Gold-padlock.svgWhen a web browser connects to a website protected with SSL or TLS (indicated by a padlock icon in the browser) it receives the public key from the server, which is then used to encrypt the subsequent communication. The data can only be decrypted using the private key, which resides on the server.

The problem with keys

However, if someone was able to break in and copy the private key from a server, they would theoretically be able to decrypt any communication to/from that server — provided that they were also able to eavesdrop on the communication.

The solution: Unique keys

To counter this it’s recently become possible to configure web servers to issue a unique key pair for every single connection, and immediately destroy the keys once the session is complete.

This method is called Forward Secrecy because it prevents anyone from retroactively breaking the encryption.

Forward Secrecy on Runbox

Runbox has now implemented Forward Secrecy in order to further improve the security and privacy of our services. It’s now virtually impossible to eavesdrop on the data being transmitted between your web browser and Runbox’ web servers — and you don’t have to do anything in order to enjoy this new level of security.

For those who are interested in the technical details, here is an analysis of the security provided by https://runbox.com, which is now our main address:

https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=runbox.com

Continue Reading →

Moving to Runbox 6

September 30, 2013 3 Comments

In order to improve the security of our email services have moved our front page to a new and upgraded server running Runbox 6 at https://runbox.com.

In preparation for this we have modified Runbox 6 to redirect Runbox 5 users to the corresponding server, if your account settings indicate that you have not yet upgraded to Runbox 6.

In other words, if you have been logging in at https://rmm6.runbox.com and have never clicked the “Switch to Runbox 6” button in Runbox 5, you will be redirected to Runbox 5.

To continue using Runbox 6, please click “Switch to Runbox 6” at the bottom of the folder list in Webmail.

Continue Reading →

New function: Choose signature location

September 27, 2013 2 Comments

There has been some discussion about our recent modification in Runbox 6 to place signatures at the bottom of replies and forwarded messages instead of above them. Some people prefer top-posting, while others adhere to the more traditional bottom-posting style.

So… We’ve now added an option to choose whether your signature should appear above or below quoted text! You will find the new option under Signature in Preferences.

 

Continue Reading →

Runbox 6 launched

January 25, 2013 18 Comments

Over the past year and a half we have spent a great deal of time behind the scenes upgrading the Runbox Webmail code. We have also upgraded all the underlying software that powers Runbox, and much of the hardware it runs on.

The Runbox 6 platform

This is the 6th generation of Runbox, and while it may appear similar to Runbox 5 it provides a solid and updated platform for further development of new features. In addition, we have created a software building and deployment system that will enable us to develop new code faster and more securely.

We have already put some new features into Runbox 6 — some minor ones you will discover as you use it, and a few bigger ones:

New Features in Runbox 6

1. Tags: These let you label messages across folders, and will allow you to organize and find messages more easily. To add a tag, open an email, select [New Tag] from the Tags field near the top, enter a tag name, and click “Add tag”. You can now sort messages by your tags in the message list.

2. Improved Account overview: You can now get a full overview of your account’s Data Usage on the Account screen.

3. Sub-account management: You will now be able to manage any sub-accounts you might have in a similar way to the main account and also see detailed information about the usage of the account. Just click the sub-account address in the list after going to Sub-accounts. Note: Sub-account owners can now change the passwords of their sub-accounts and therefore potentially access them.

4. Color themes: You can now choose between 4 color themes by going to Webmail: Preferences and selecting an option from the “Theme” menu. We have also removed they gray background color from all pages to brighten things up a bit.

Try Runbox 6 now

You can start using Runbox 6 now by going to the following link: https://beta.runbox.com/mail?activate_rmm6=YES

This will take you to https://runbox.com, which is also where you will be redirected automatically next time you log in.

We hope you will enjoy the new Runbox! If you have any questions, please add a comment below or open a support ticket at https://support.runbox.com.

Continue Reading →

Upgrade for Runbox 4 users

December 20, 2012 24 Comments

Although Runbox 5 was launched in 2009 we have continued supporting Runbox 4 despite having to maintain an extra set of servers and software.

At this point we are going to have to make some changes, though…

Runbox 4 and the recent database upgrades

We have been planning to retire Runbox 4 for a while now, but some of you who have been with us for a long time have grown to love the trusty but perhaps a bit clunky interface. So we postponed the decision and wanted to do it slowly and gently at some point in the future.

However, when completing the database server replacement today, we realized that some of the software powering Runbox 4 is no longer compatible with the new database servers. We have tried upgrading that old software, but it’s proving very difficult.

Runbox 5 and the even newer Runbox 6

Since we think it’s better to spend time improving the new Runbox 6 instead, and because Runbox 4 is so old it’s starting to be a security risk, we have decided to upgrade those still using Runbox 4 to Runbox 5 Basic.

Runbox 5 Basic works very similarly to Runbox 4, but it looks a lot nicer. Runbox 5 is the standard Webmail while we finish the new Runbox 6, which is still in testing.

You can find more information about how Runbox 5 works here: Runbox 5 Upgrade Guide

We hope you will like Runbox 5 while we keep working to finalize Runbox 6!

Drafts in Runbox 4 vs Runbox 5

In Runbox 5, drafts are stored in a different way that lets them be synchronized with an email client over IMAP. Unfortunately, this also means that drafts stored in Runbox 4 are not available in the Runbox 5 interface.

However, for those of you who have saved drafts in Runbox 4 we can most likely convert them to Runbox 5 if you contact us via https://support.runbox.com.

fast.runbox.com and light.runbox.com

The text-only Webmail at fast.runbox.com was also running Runbox 4 software. We have a new, similar webmail powered by Runbox 5 available at light.runbox.com for those who want that: http://light.runbox.com/mail

fast.runbox.com will therefore redirect to light.runbox.com from now on.

Continue Reading →

Font size in Compose screen

May 5, 2012 Leave a comment

There are font size increase/decrease buttons in the lower left corner of Webmail, and these also control the font size in the Compose window in Runbox 5 Basic mode.

Now we have fixed a bug so it also works in Runbox 5 Enhanced mode where the Compose screen opens in a new window.

It doesn’t yet work when writing HTML messages since the HTML editor (TinyMCE) is a separate program and isn’t entirely integrated with Runbox.

For more information about the different versions of Runbox, please see the Webmail Help page.

 

Continue Reading →

Extended website security

November 26, 2011 Leave a comment

The Runbox website is now protected by an Extended Validation Certificate when in secure mode at https://secure.runbox.com. This is usually indicated by a green address bar in your browser.

This certificate independently verifies the identity of our company as the owner of the domain runbox.com, meaning that visitors can be certain the web pages they see are legitimate.

We recommend you always be aware of the domain name shown in your browser, especially after clicking links in email messages, to prevent so-called phishing.

We also recommend using secure mode (SSL) when logging on to Runbox. You can enable this in your browser by clicking the “Secure” link next to the login fields on the front page.

Continue Reading →