Explain me like I'am 5, how things are working?

ETHMail
#1

Hey,

I wanna know, how things are working under the hood in Cryptoauth or Ethmail.cc.

It’s pretty awesome to see that I can use an Ethereum address to access Web2 applications, This is gonna enrich the privacy to the next level.

#2

Hi, happy to have you here!

In short:

  • Cryptoauth is an implementation of Open ID Connect protocol (openid.net)
  • ETHMail is and implementation of classic email server with user identification using custom mechanism

ELI5 Cryptoauth:
Some websites/web applications do not have their own login mechanisms but instead delegate the job of identifying and verifying users to external services. Like for example in WordPress you can setup the site to login users using Google or Twitter or Facebook. Those websites use oAuth2/Open ID Connect protocols to communicate with external Identity Provider.

So in simple words when you want to login to website X this website redirects you to their Identity Provider service and asks them to verify who you are. Later when you prove to Identity Provider service (login with password or otherwise) you are redirected back to website X and Identity Provider service tell website: “Yeah, this is John, he is 27 year old and has email xyz@john.example.com”

ELI5 ETHMail
ETHMail server is really the most classic email server you can have, but when someone sends emails to it it check if username part or email address is valid Ethereum address or ENS name. If yes it stores the email in proper place.
Later when you want to access your emails you need to prove to ETHMail server that you own certain Ethereum address, you usually do that by singing special message that ETHMail asks you to sign.
ETHMail server talks most common email protocols (SMTP, IMAP)
Because ETHMail is using classic email protocols it can talk to any other email server that exists and exchange emails. That’s why you can send emails to/from eg. Gmail or Outlook from/to ETHMail.

2 Likes
#3

Hi, you wrote the principle perfectly, but I saw records of where incoming and outgoing messages are stored? What is a "proper place? Access to letters (incoming / outgoing) is encrypted for everyone or the owner of the server has constant access to them? The server is in the blockchain? If the server is in the blockchain, then what is this blockchain? Is there a transition to fully decentralized mail using Ethereum Layer 2?

#4

The messages in ETHMail are stored on the server, it’s a classical setup, no data is stored on the blockchain. Machine administrator (me) have access to the stored messages, yes. You can encrypt the messages you are sending any way you want (as long as the recipient can decrypt them), the same goes for people sending messages to you.