Originally posted here by ss2chef
I don't consider any public webmail as private.

If you want to maximize your privacy, you should consider running your own mail server.

Remember that even tho you may read your webmail via https, its still sent and delivered in
clear text in most cases.
Your email has probably been viewed by many more people than you think.

Running your own server can help minimize the eyes on your mail.
There are many free mail servers and costs would be minimal.

Is messenger integration an absolute requirement?

What about yahoo/yahoo messenger since you say you hate Microsoft..??
I donot agree with you, well providing your own webmail solutions might not provide you with enough security.

You can protect your server with cisco 510e firewall or others and managing it is pretty difficult.

If you have enough money to provide

1. dedicated server or colocated server

2. a powerfull firewall

3. antivirus solutions

4. an webmail program.

Kinda difficult, I say u use either Excite or yahoo Mail which is far secure than others today,