| |
| |
|
Security Information |
|
|
|
Is Your Email Private? Part 1 of 3
In a word, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 Public/Private 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, your privacy is again compromised. For more information on PGP and a free download visit: http://www.pgpi.org. 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 http://www.canyourspam.com to see his latest work. He is also the chief editor of PSS Online, A Privacy, Safety and Security eZine dedicated to bringing important information to people in order to foster a safer more secure environment - online and off. Visit http://www.pssonline.info to subscribe.
MORE RESOURCES:
Security - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
If You Steal It, They May Come! Business on the internet is getting down right shameless. This week, my email box was literally filled with hype, overly inflated promises, phish mail, scams, ezines I did not order, and about 14 viagra gimmicks. Reporting Internet Scams When it comes to reporting Internet scams most of us either don't have a clue who to contact or just ignore them in our email. But according to an FBI report in December 2004, nearly ten million people last year didn't ignore them and fell for the latest Internet scams. What is Hacking? Are You a Hacker? WHAT IS HACKING?Hacking, sometimes known as "computer crime" has only recently been taken very seriously. The activities undertaken by the real hackers have been criminalized and they are now being legally persecuted on a scale disproportional to the actual threat they pose. Be Aware of Phishing Scams! If you use emails actively in your communication, you must have received various messages claiming to be from Ebay, Paypal and a number of banks. A recent email as if from U. Phishing, Fraudulent, and Malicious Websites Whether we like it or not, we are all living in the Information Age. We have nothing left but adapt to rapidly developing information technology, no matter who we are and what we do for living. DOS Attacks: Instigation and Mitigation During the release of a new software product specialized to track spam, ACME Software Inc notice that there was not as much traffic as they hoped to receive. During further investigation, they found that they could not view their own website. Web Conferencing Readers - So What Do We Do with the PAYPAL SPAMMER From: "Paypal Security" Subject: New Security Requirements Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 19:20:51 -0800Dear valued PayPal® member,Due to recent fraudulent transactions, we have issued the following security requirements.It has come to our (attion)**Spelling Mistake**, that 98% of all fraudulent transactions are caused by members using stolen credit cards to purchase or sell non existant items. A Basic Introduction To Spyware Spyware is the most troublesome software to appear on the Internet in recent times. When spyware infects a computer system, it may be relatively harmless or it may be devastating. Is The Internet Over Regulated Today's Internet or World Wide Web is being over regulated.But, are you being taken for a ride, are you lead to believe that Governments World Wide are creating new legislation for your benefit or are there underlying factors that these laws are more beneficial to Governments and big business?First we had the Can-Spam and other laws passed regulating the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail, that contains false or deceptive subject information, or that is sent from invalid e-mail addresses, but for me, my inbox still seems to always be full of junk mail. Click Here To Defeat Evil Microsoft routinely releases new security updates, many of which are given it's highest severity rating "critical". Here's a typical announcement:"A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Internet Explorer and gain control over it. Computer Viruses and Other Nasties: How to Protect Your Computer from These Invaders Can you protect your computer from all possible viruses and other invasions?The quickest answer to this is "no." It's just flat impossible to protect your computer from all viruses, registry attacks, worms, spyware, malware, popups, and other such nasties. All About Computer Viruses Your computer is as slow as molasses. Your mouse freezes every 15 minutes, and that Microsoft Word program just won't seem to open. How Free Scripts Can Create Security Problems With the Internet entering our lives in such an explosive manner, it was inevitable that Internet security issues would follow as well. While credit card frauds are an offline security problem that has been carried over to the Internet as well, spamming and phishing are uniquely Internet security hazards. Spyware, What It Is, What It Does, And How To Stop It Spyware is software that runs on a personal computer without the knowledge or consent of the owner of that computer. The Spyware then collects personal information about the user or users of the infected computer. The Bad Guys Are Phishing For Your Personal Information Do you know what "phishing" is?No, it doesn't mean you grab a pole and head to the late to catch some phish.The official Webopedia definition of "phishing" is as follows:The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. Lets Talk About Antivirus Software! Nowadays more and more people are using a computer. A lot of them use it at their work place, but an increasing number of computer users have also discovered the need to have a computer at home. Phishing-Based Scams: A Couple of New Ones Phishing in its "classic" variant is relatively well-known. Actually, 43. Is My PC Vulnerable on the Internet? No longer are viruses the only threat on the internet. In recent years other threats have evolved which include spyware, adware, hacking, identity theft, information theft, pop-ups and the loss of information. Breaking Into Your PC: News... You'd better learn news from media, not from emails, security experts warn us users again.Numerous emails with "breaking news" in subject lines are appearing in users' inboxes. How to Prevent Online Identity Theft Identity theft rates one of the fastest growing crimes in mAmerica today and the Internet can make it even easier for some criminals to take your good name and drag it through the mud.Identity theft involves criminals stealing your personal information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers and other information, usually to buy things on credit or to empty out your bank accounts.
|
|
home | site map Visit our other sites: GamesBlog | GamingDepot | GimmeaRide | GimmeNetwork | Golf Biz | HotorNotGame | I Want Computers | I Want Games | I Want Hosting | I Want Music | I Want Security | JokeBox | ScriptShock | Wantedfonts | Webalize |
| © 2006 |
