To use a common comparison: Plain, unencrypted email is like a postcard with its message written with a pencil. It can be seen while in transit, and it can be modified as well. Since more people than not seem to be unaware of this fact, this is my contribution to changing that.

OK so now, what in the name of all that is holy can we do with that datum? well, you know now that if you are having correspondence by email, you shouldn’t write anything you don’t mind being seen by anyone other than the counterpart of your correspondence. Another thing you can do is implement email encryption, whereby the email is not in plain text anymore, but transformed into unintelligible characters so that it can’t be read or changed by unintended recipients while in transit, and then decrypted at the receiving end so the actual intended recipient can read the original message.

As far as encrypted email  goes, there are two main ways to go about it. One is web-based, meaning you have to set up an account on a website (just like you would do with a Yahoo or Hotmail account) and then use that account when you want to generate secure emails. Hushmail (http://www.hushmail.com) is a good example of that. Others exist as well. the second way is implementing encryption in your computer’s email client (Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Eudora are some examples of email clients). By installing a program such as Comodo’s Secure Email (http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/secure-email.php), this can be achieved.

Whichever method you want to use, encryption is the standard solution to ensuring privacy when it comes to emails.