Email Security Blog

Hi

I have a
- Adobe Acrobate Professional 6.0 (Adobe writer)
- Microsoft Word

I can convert Word docs to pdf - but what should I do make the doc uneditable? Pls give the steps.

Thanks
How about pdf file? If you password protect, will the pdf be automatically protected?

You know you can password protect a word .doc
don,t you?

I work with medical transcriptions and need a way to send encrypted secure email because of HIPAA requirements. I've checked out their website and downloaded their free trial version. It's looks pretty good to me and simple to use. Is anyone out there using it? If so do you like it? Have you run into any issues using it?
Will this program meet my requirements for HIPAA?

I believe you need 128 bit encrypition for HIPAA but I never played with that program. I have used PGP which is a great encryption program. It has been around for years and is one of the first out there. Its easy to use and does not really have any proplems. You can download it at http://www.pgp.com This is the program I would recomend and most of the fortune 500 security would recommend.

is it possible to send emails encrypted?
Do you encrypt the email itself, or send in a secure email?
Please help?

you can get an encrytion tool free from pcworld. look in the security downloads for one and then encrypt the files and not the email. http://www.pcworld.com

depends…
why do you ask??
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080701073749AAcI60C

Gmail does not use encryption afaik!

Do you have a problem that u might think is related to what you think it CAN be?
…like someone spying on you??

I’ve saved an email that I sent to myself, listing all of my important online banking and debit info, with the sole exception of my PIN. The email account is not secure.

Is this a dangerous idea?
Enough said! I've already deleted the email.

ABSOLUTELY …. THAT KIND OF INFO CAN MESS U UP PIN # OR NOT …

I have a printer/scanner/copier, but it is not a fax machine. I work from home a lot and have been told I can send an attachment through my email to a fax machine. I did look on the Internet but do not want to perform 100’s of these faxes, just occasionally.

You can fax right from your computer. The windows telephony app does it quite well.

I used to do it from a winMe machine. Around 2001.

Go to microsoft and read up on it. Fast, easy, free, the cost of a local phone call.

When it comes to gaining and keeping customers, every website is
interested in doing everything they possibly can to make this
happen. Fortunately, something as easy as e-mail etiquette can
make your customers feel appreciated and as a result become
loyal and repeat customers. However, there are some tips that
you will need to follow in order to implement etiquette into
your e-mails and make it work for you. Read the following
suggestions and implement them in your e-mail campaign
immediately.

1. Only Mail to Those Who Opted In (and let them know they did)

One major thing you need to incorporate into your e-mail
campaign that will keep your customers happy and loyal is to
only send e-mails to those individuals who have opted in. For
example, when the customer checked out there was a box checked
that said they wanted to receive further e-mails from your
company. Some people uncheck this box, others don’t ever see it,
and some actually do check it. So, when you send e-mails to the
individuals that checked the box or left it checked unknowingly,
make sure you add in your e-mail that they opted in to the
e-mail list.

2. Unsubscribe

Always include information in the e-mail for individuals to
unsubscribe from your e-mail list if they so choose. This does
not mean they are not loyal customers or will not continue to
be, but that they already have enough e-mail cluttering their
inbox and don’t want anymore. If you respect their request to
unsubscribe they will remain truer and more loyal than if you
keep filling their inbox with unwanted messages that they delete
without reading anyway.

3. Never Sell E-Mail Addresses

Respect your customers and keep them loyal by never, ever
selling their e-mail addresses. Also, inform them that you will
not do so in order for them to feel secure in providing you with
their address.

4. Make it Short and to the Point

When you do send e-mails to customers make sure the point of the
e-mail is addressed in the subject line as well as immediately
in the opening paragraph. You do not want to waste people’s time
with an e-mail that they are not interested in. Also, keep it
short and to the point so they will not have to read much to
figure out whether they are interested or not.

5. Be Polite and Watch That Grammar

Of course, with any type of business writing, you should always
be very polite and have excellent grammar. There are few things
that put people off like misspelled words and poor grammar in
business e-mails. It will send the signal you are not a serious
company, which is the last signal you want to send

Scott Merrill of TechCrunch.com says that when it comes to web email, you sacrifice security for convenience. 09.23.08. Interview by TalkingHeadTV.com Distributed by Tubemogul.

Duration : 3 min 52 sec

more… »

Technorati Tags: sarah

What is SSL?

SSL certificates are generally used with ecommerce shopping carts, or anywhere you want to collect information from a user securely on your website. If you use a secure server certificate with a form; and that form emails the results to you; keep in mind that the email is not secure.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): Creates an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. CA (Certificate Authority): The vendor you will get the secure server certificate from CSR (Certificate Signing Request): A text file generated by a web server. A CSR looks like this:

——-BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST——-

MIIDGgBNAGkAYwByAG8AcwBvAGYAdAAgAFIAUwBBACAAUwB

AG4AZQBsACAAQwByAHkAcAB0AG8AZwByAGEAcABoAGkAYwl

L0ygNwwNIvKLMPq4/LcUkZ9Oo4AssXW5mvvhHWGz2RWYRhrw8o

——-END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST——-

First, you need to decide whether to use your hosting shared SSL certificate if they offer it. The URL to your store will look something like:

https://theirserver.com/youruserid/your/path/to/store.html

Or do you want to get your own SSL certificate? The URL will look like:

https://yourdomainname.com

If you decide to use your hosts’ shared secure server certificate, then all you need to do is find out the path you need to use to call your files securely, and you will be on your way.

If you decide to get your own SSL certificate, this is generally what happens.

You first need to decide who you are going to get your SSL certificate from. It is a good idea to make sure your host supports your particular vendor. Some certificate authority vendors are:

* Thawte

* Verisign

* Comodo

* You can also review several vendors at a glance at WhichSSL

Before getting your own SSL certificate, you will need to do some reading on what your chosen Certificate Authority requires for a secure certificate, and you’ll also need to come up with some documentation. There are several steps to buying a secure server certificate, once you have decided on a vendor.

This is an overview, not written in stone. Each CA is different, so make sure you read their documentation and what they require. Here is an idea of what they want:

All documentation that is requested must match exactly. Secure certificate authorities will verify that your organization actually exists, so they know they are issuing to the correct company. You will need to prove that the Organization Name and the Domain name are in fact yours to use.

Steps you’ll be taking:

* Gather required documentation

* Have your host generate a CSR

* Complete certificate authority online application

* Certificate authority will process your request

* Pickup and install your SSL certificate (usually an URL is emailed to you to download the secure server certificate)

* Depending on the vendor, it can take a few hours to a few days.

* Send secure certificate to host for installation. (Send in plain text)

Once your web hosting provider receives this information; they will generate the CSR and send it back to you in plain text. You then send it on to Verisign or Thawte, or whoever you have chosen as your secure certificate authority. They will then generate a SSL certificate for you which you will send back to your host for installation. Your web host may charge a fee for installation in addition to what your SSL certificate vendor charges.

Something to think about:

If you’ve decided to purchase your own SSL certificate, you will need to decide how you want your URL to be called. If you, as a rule, call your domain name in your coding as www.yourdomainname.com, then make sure you indicate this to your host when you request a CSR from them. If you don’t, and you get the certificate for yourdomainname.com (without the www), this will cause browser errors, making the certificate seem insecure, and you will need to change your coding.

Always use yourself or your company as technical contact.

How to tell if a site is secure?

After you’ve browsed to a site securely; using https:// in the URL, look on the lower right hand side of your browser. You should see a closed lock. This will tell you the site is secure.

specifically gmail and yahoo mail. can third parties read these attachments?

You hear a lot about how un-secure e-mail is, but the fact of the matter is no one is going to try and steal your e-mail unless they have a reason to think they can profit from it. Are you sending bank account numbers? Credit card numbers? Crooks and hackers have an effort-to-potential profit ratio they look at to determine if it's gong to be worth trying to get into someone's system, and I doubt your "secrets" are all that valuable to them. Maybe to you - but not to a thief.

If you're concerned, you can always encrypt the attachment. PGP offers an easy way to do this, and you can always password-protect a ZIP file if you want to go that route.

But like I said, unless you are routinely sending information that a crook can use to clean out your bank account or charge a lot of items on your credit card, I don't think you need to lose any sleep over this.