Matters of privacy and online safety have been progressively tossed around in the media in recent years. More and more people fear that their privacy is constantly being invaded and that their emails are being read. Whether that is true or not, I can't really say. For those of you who believe this is the case and you want to send sensitive data via email, I can teach you how you can protect it. Using passwords is a very basic cryptic method, but it ensures that only you and the party you're sending the message to can read it (provided they have the password).
This way you can be sure that there is no way that your message can be decrypted. Keep in mind that cracking passwords doesn't really work like it does in the movies. Even though it would be possible for someone to crack a basic password, it can take days if your password is strong enough (I recommend using random numbers and letters create it). Almost nobody would dedicate that amount of time on your emails so you will be safe. But how can you do it? The process has two basic components – online and offline. We will begin with offline.
Offline
The offline component is where it all begins. What you need here is Microsoft Word. Word is great program and will allow you to type your message and then encrypt it without the use of external software.
Open your MS Word file and type your message. Take your time and make sure that you've included absolutely everything you wish to say to the person you're sending it to. Once you're done with the message, take a few minutes to think about the password. It needs to be something you both know, or otherwise they won't be able to open the file. You can actually think of a complicated password and send it them coded in another email with a simpler password, but I don't think that things should go that far. Still, if you really want to be extra careful, that's one of the ways to do it. The other one is sending a physical letter or SMS with password and then sending the encrypted document via email. You have imagination – I'm leaving the options to you.
Once you know what password you want to use, you should go to Tools, and then Options in the menu. You will find the Security options there. You will then see a field that says, “Password to Open”. Type your password there and click OK. In the next field, re-type the password so you can confirm it, and then click OK again. You've set the password. Good job. Now click “Save as...” and save the file where it will be easy for you to locate.
Online
Now that the file is ready for sending, go to your email account. This is the online component of the process and it's by far the simpler one. Simply log into your account, then click “Compose new message”. Type in the email address of the receiver, along with the subject and something like, “See attached file” or a hint toward the password if you haven't sent it to them, but you know they can figure it out. Then click attach file and locate the encrypted file you had composed beforehand. Double-click it and it will be attached to the email. All that's left is to hit the send button and you're all set.
Author Bio:
Rose Finchley loves to help out. She is pretty into technology for a girl. A few years ago she started her own website - http://www.endoftenancycleanerslondon.com/sw14-mortlake/ and she is really proud of herself.
