How Secure Is My E-mail?

#1 PCWorld

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Posted 09 January 2009 - 07:35 AM

Post your comments for How Secure Is My E-mail? here

#2 rcprimak

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Posted 13 January 2009 - 02:32 PM

It's amazing how many people think that e-mail is encrypted, when in fact it is not, during transmission.

That aside, GMail does transmit details about the contents of your e-mail to third party advertisers, and no one knows who thes third-parties are. This is more than just a computer reading details and posting in-house ads.

That said, I'd trust Google with my e-mail long before I'd trust Yahoo, with whom I do have an active MailPlus Account.

#3 OneTrueFriend

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Posted 16 January 2009 - 02:56 AM

It is a good idea for everyone to get used to thinking of E-mail as the equivalent of sending an open postcard.
That is the best way to view it.

#4 luckydawg

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Posted 16 January 2009 - 03:59 AM

And never....I mean...NEVER hit the dreaded "reply all" button when you only want to reply to the original sender! This little button has broken up marriages, ended political careers, and destroyed families! I hated Outlook and Outlook Express so much that I switched to Pegasus. It works smoother and best of all....It's NOT a Bill Gates product! :-)

#5 jcastle

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Posted 21 January 2009 - 06:59 PM

All that said about the lack of security of e-mail it would be simple to encrypt e-mail like secure web pages with public key cryptography.

#6 LindaA

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 04:33 AM

OneTrueFriend makes an excellent point about thinking of e-mail as being the electronic equivalent of a postcard, because that's EXACTLY what it is, so whatever you do, don't EVER put any personally sensitive (credit/debit card numbers, Social Security number, etc.) into an e-mail.

That said, someone would have to have an awfully bad case on insomnia to want to read MY e-mail! {|-))

#7 OneTrueFriend

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 01:58 PM

Well done to LindaA for gently introducing a sense of humour into a serious topic.

#8 Master21

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Posted 18 June 2010 - 01:12 AM

Of course, you CAN make your email private. Check out PGP, GPG, or TrulyMail and you will see how easy it can be. I prefer TrulyMail but I've heard PGP is also quite easy for non-technical people.

Why leave unencrypted messages on anyone's servers? What is the point? Want your email with you wherever you go? Use a POP client from a USB drive.

It's not so hard once you know your options.

#9 romasteve40

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Posted 18 June 2010 - 04:32 AM

I had a Gmail account and someone with the same name had an account. I would get his email....I think he got some of mine perhaps.

The difference in our email address was ONE period(.) I had one and he did not.

So nothing is sacred on gmail it seems.