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6 Replies Last post: Jan 22, 2009 1:58 PM by OneTrueFriend   Branched to a new thread.
Click to view PCWorld's profile PCW News Bot 35,856 posts since
Aug 1, 2007
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Jan 9, 2009 7:35 AM

How Secure Is My E-mail?

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Click to view rcprimak's profile New Member 77 posts since
Jan 29, 2008
1. Jan 13, 2009 2:32 PM in response to: PCWorld
Re: How Secure Is My E-mail?
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.
Click to view OneTrueFriend's profile New Member 15 posts since
Aug 28, 2007
2. Jan 16, 2009 2:56 AM in response to: PCWorld
Re: How Secure Is My E-mail?
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.
Click to view luckydawg's profile New Member 2 posts since
Nov 4, 2008
3. Jan 16, 2009 3:59 AM in response to: PCWorld
Re: How Secure Is My E-mail?
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! :-)
Click to view jcastle's profile New Member 58 posts since
Oct 16, 2006
4. Jan 21, 2009 6:59 PM in response to: PCWorld
Re: How Secure Is My E-mail?
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.
Click to view LindaA's profile New Member 80 posts since
Oct 27, 2006
5. Jan 22, 2009 4:33 AM in response to: PCWorld
Re: How Secure Is My E-mail?
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! {|-))
Click to view OneTrueFriend's profile New Member 15 posts since
Aug 28, 2007
6. Jan 22, 2009 1:58 PM in response to: LindaA
Re: How Secure Is My E-mail?
Well done to LindaA for gently introducing a sense of humour into a serious topic.

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