Do you encrypt your emails?

NutJob

sjones wrote:

Well, enigmail is a plugin for thunderbird that lets you use PGP. It's what I use.

I found pgp easy to use on outlook(i dont use outlook outside of work). But it wouldnt pass the "could i train my mum in on it" test unfortunatly. And mum support is the kind of userfriendly UI needed to make this stuff fly.

An out of box solution with a safe/verrrryyyy verrrrrrry simple key publishing mechinism that passes the mum test should be a min requirement.

If i got my way it would have to pass the granny test two.

Hecate

Much the same as other posters I would consider encrypting every email you send overkill. A lot of anti-spam/anti-virus software out there will also flat out refuse to deal with such encrypted messages - depending on their policies most of them will simply stick the messages into a quarantine area for the administrator to deal with.

However I could see a fully encrypted/"secure" mail system operating within an organisation that has some sort of public key infrastructure setup. Places such as government departments, banks or any other organisations that have a need to handle sensitive data would use such a system.

So as with most things I guess it depends on what you are trying to do

Black Swan

Hecate wrote:

However I could see a fully encrypted/"secure" mail system operating within an organisation that has some sort of public key infrastructure setup. Places such as government departments, banks or any other organisations that have a need to handle sensitive data would use such a system.

So as with most things I guess it depends on what you are trying to do

Not just organizations, but also certain professions require a higher level of security, even in their purely personal communications. For example, actors/actresses have to be on their guard at all times, because there are snoops who work for the gossip columnists that try to crack their personal emails to family and friends.

Some people out there in cyberland reading this post could say, well, if they are not naughty, then why should an actress worry about gossip columnists? Well, have you ever been taken out of context, and have the whole meaning of what you said completely change? The gossips are experts at this, quoting or paraphrasing only what gives the spin they want and ignoring the rest.

Furthermore, many in the acting profession are bound by contract not to disclose where or what they are shooting until the film is released. "Dear, you have been gone for a month on a shoot, and you cannot tell Da where you are staying or (whatever)...?" The snoops are all over this stuff.

And you might say, well don't use email. Well then, you also better say "You cannot use a cell phone either, because they are easy to crack, too!" (or cell texting)

Why cannot we be assured that email is safe? It's very expensive using other forms of communication when trying to stay in touch with family, friends, and lovers on a daily basis (especially when you are far away). And email is cheap. Why yield to the snoops? What right do they have to rule our lives?

A user-friendly encryption program is needed for personal communications, and like mentioned above, one that passes the "Grandma Test" of user-friendliness (and is not quarantined by A/V programs). After all, what right does anyone have to snoop on someone else in their day to day communications with family, friends, or lovers?

The OP sjones has a very valid point that should not be dismissed, but rather acted upon. So where are all the programming geniuses who want to make an easy (multi-)million euros?