In a word Cheap Air Max 270 , no - an email message has always been nothing more than a simple text message sent unencrypted to a recipient we choose. So all the email that we so blithely send all over the Internet everyday is neither private nor secure. Every birthday greeting or Dear John email, every complaint, rant or verbal purge we may have sent to our employers Cheap Air Max 2019 , credit companies, congressman or customer service rep is subject to delivery errors or outright interception.
How can this be? To answer that we need to understand how email works. For the vast majority of email users today, the email system they use consists of two servers providing incoming and outgoing services Cheap Air Max 2018 , SMTP and POP3.
The SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server handles the outgoing email. SMTP was designed years ago when plain ascii text was all there was to send via email. So, when you push the "Send" button in your email client, the SMTP server at your ISP (Internet Service Provider) connects with the incoming POP3 (Post Office Protocol ver. 3) server where you are sending the email. The servers have a short "chat" verifying that the email address you are trying to send to exists on the incoming POP3 server. Then the SMTP server passes the message to the POP3 server and the POP3 server puts the message into the recipient's email box. At no time during the process is your email encrypted to protect your privacy. The message could be intercepted at anytime during the process and read by anyone.
On occasion Cheap Air Max 2017 , email sent to you or by you may even be delivered to the wrong inbox and your private message is no longer private. A single misdirected message could expose you to all kinds of trouble depending upon it's content.
Well, no one wants to read your email right? Wrong! Have you ever heard of Carnivore? That's a system that the FBI uses to harvest all email traffic going through a network. How does this affect you? When the FBI hooks Carnivore up to your ISP's network because they suspect someone of dealing drugs or some other crime, Carnivore will filter through ALL email looking for keywords that relate to the crime in question. And because the search has to be intentionally vague Cheap Air Max 1 , you may be sending a request for information about a prescription drug you take and Carnivore will harvest your email to be read by a human agent. Suddenly, the drugs you're taking are now public knowledge. Spammers have also been known to harvest email addresses via captured emails.
OK - so now that you know the problem, what should you do about securing your privacy? It was hinted at earlier on... encryption! Learn how to use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) to encrypt your email.
PGP uses a PublicPrivate key method to encrypt email. First you create a "Public" key. This is the key that others will use to encrypt email sent to you. Send this key to everyone you want to receive encrypted email from. Then you create a "Private" key. This is the key you use to decrypt any encrypted email sent to you. Safeguard this key well. It is the only thing that can decrypt your messages. If you tell someone what it is or loose it Cheap Air Max 180 , your privacy is again compromised.
For more information on PGP and a free download visit: .
Next Time: Incorporating PGP into your email...
Michael Ameye has been developing web sites since 1995. He started writing about online privacy issues to answer questions from family, friends and co-workers. Visit to see his latest work.
He is also the chief editor of PSS Online, A Privacy Cheap Air Max 120 , Safety and Security eZine dedicated to bringing important information to people in order to foster a safer more secure environment - online and off. Visit to subscribe. With more and more people finding it difficult to keep their heads above water these days, it is important that they do not just bury their heads in the sand. If you are one of these people this article will help give you an insight into what you can do to put your finances back on track.
The first step should always be to work out exactly where you stand, by writing down a comprehensive list of all your out-goings each month. You need to make sure that you include a monthly expense for petrol http://www.cheapthebestairmax.com/ , clothing and food as well as regular bills and credit repayment. It probably makes sense to have your last bank statement in front of you when you do this so you do not forget anything. You should also write down any money that you may have coming in each month, so you know exactly how much you can afford to spend each month on repaying your debts. You should also look closely in order to try to identify any potential savings that can be made to put more money back into the pot. Maybe you could cut back on your sky subscription, or find a cheaper provide for your utilities Cheap Nike Air Max , there are some good savings to be made if you are not with the cheapest provider.
Assuming that you are in the situation that you are not earning enough to survive financially each month you need to do a number of things;
1. The most important bills i.e. your mortgage and utility bills should never be missed. It is of the utmost importance that you always make regular payments to you mortgage or your lender may seek to re-possess your home. You could always approach the lender and request a payment holiday or perhaps extending the term of the mortgage to reduce the payments.
2. Contact the lenders that you owe money to and explain your current situation to them, tell them that you have worked out what you can afford to pay them each month and as if they would freeze any interest and late payment charges while you sort yourself out.
3. If you feel uncomfortable about contacting your creditors yourself, you need to seek the help of a debt management company or some other form of debt expert. Things never improve by ignoring them in fact quite the opposite they quite often get worst.