Q. My mortgage officer recently e-
mailed our credit report as a PDF attachment. I
thought, "Yeeeoow! There's everything an identity
thief needs on my wife and me, right on the first
page!" How secure is e-mail? Is there a way to
encrypt e-mail?
A. The standards that allow us to
share e-mail messages were not designed for
security. In fact, the typical e-mail message is sent
as plain text. That doesn't mean that your
communications are easily intercepted, but it's
possible.
The best way to avoid e-mail eavesdropping is
through total computer security. That includes a
firewall, an antivirus program, and a few anti-
spyware tools.
Unfortunately, you can't account for security at the
other end of your e-mail conversations. If you want
to be sure that messages are protected from end to
end, use e-mail encryption.
The easy way to get e-mail encryption is through
secure Webmail services such as Hushmail, MailVault
and S-Mail. Encryption is built-in and seamless if both
sides use the same service. Each offers free
accounts.
If you or your contacts prefer e-mail programs like
Outlook or Thunderbird, try add-ons such as Enigmail
(free) or PGP Desktop Home ($99). Enigmail works
with Thunderbird, Mozilla or Netscape. PGP Desktop
Home works with Outlook, Outlook Express,
Thunderbird, Eudora or Apple Mail.
The big catch with Hushmail or add-ons is that both
ends must use it. Both sides must be equipped to
encrypt and decrypt messages. In most cases,
encryption-equipped e-mail programs can
communicate with their Webmail counterparts.
No doubt, people such as mortgage companies
consider encryption. But they would have to teach
their recipients to use it, too. The public is far, far
behind the curve on encryption. As a practical
matter, it probably isn't possible.
It is theoretically possible for e-mail to be
intercepted in transit. But I have never heard of such
a thing. And I could find no instances of it in my
research.
As long as your computer is clean, you're probably
OK. If you have a wireless network, be sure it is
secured. Postal mail has been used for these
documents for centuries. I think e-mail is safer.
reprinted with permission Copyright 2006
WestStar TalkRadio Network. Subscribe to Kim
Komando's free e-mail newsletters at:
www.komando.com
