Being able to send and receive email in a safe, untampered environment is crucial to successful online business practices.  This is handled in a number of ways, from the personal level all the way up to and including the servers which transport mail.  There are standards for encryption that provide security without compromising efficiency, and we’ll briefly talk about those here.

At the user level, one of the most common encryption methods is the use of PGP, or Pretty Good protection.  This uses a dual-key scenario, where one key is held by the sender, and a public key is distributed with messages.  Originally, PGP was released based on a 64-bit encryption method, but has since evolved, first created and now using 128-bit data encryption.  Anyone interested in learning detail about email encryption should also look closely at PGP, it has long been the standard contact-to-contact encryption used.  Most other enryption methods used also incorporate 128-bit encryption, and it is regarded as being safe against all normal attacks.

At the ISP, or Internet gateway, level another layer of protection is available by encrypting communications between individual servers.  This is stabdard is called TLS, or Transport Security Layer.  It provides data integrity between two data servers, making interception useless under most circumstances.

A third level standard of protection, though not often used for email, is the SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer.  This level of security is considered the most accepted for business and online credit transactions.  Most online checkouts are performed using SSL, whether it is with your local bank, or at an online shop that doesn’t have a physical address at all.

For email protection, many email servers provide encryption and many other email services, including scanning for virus infected files, and banning known spam originators.  This method is most often installed by the IT staff, and operates invisibly to all nodes on the network.  For commercial settings, this standard encryption technique minimizes employee time wasted on spam or other undesired email while delivering mail efficiently throughout the LAN, WLAN, WAN, or Internet.

Article written by MyComputerAid.com

Post from: MyComputerAid.com Computer support

Email encryption

Encrypting File System, or EFS, is used to encrypt files or folders from other users on the network, or even on the same machine. The uses for this are varied. Any time one user on a computer has files or other data which should be kept private, EFS comes in handy. Parents can keep sensitive data away from children, children can maintain a diary that can only be read by someone logged in with their ID, or co-workers can protect senstive sales data from other co-workers who share the same computer.

Using EFS is as simple as right-clicking the file or folder you want to encrypt, selecting the file properties, and clicking the ADVANCED button at the lower right of the properties window. This will open the advanced properties window, and the encryption toggle is at the bottom of the window.

Remember though, that once this has been enabled, your password will be required to turn it back off again for that file or folder.

Article written by MyComputerAid.com

Post from: MyComputerAid.com Computer support

Enable Vista file security encryption EFS