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End to End Email Protection

By John Mark Walker

For those unfamiliar with the world of encryption, Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) was developed to let people communicating via email encrypt messages to each other. If someone were to intercept one of those messages, he or she wouldn't be able to read its encrypted contents, but the intended recipient could—assuming that the sender was kind enough to share his or her key with the recipient. People sending encrypted email to each other share their keys either by sending them through email or by putting them on a public key server.

The National Security Agency employs tools like Echelon, a global network of highly sensitive listening posts, to observe all electronic communications, including email. With the emergence of such tools, it's becoming clear how useful tools like PGP are for protecting your email privacy. While not uncrackable, PGP certainly sets a higher barrier for unwanted lurkers who attempt to gain access to your email.

PGP Admin and Desktop Security for Windows PGP Security Contact vendor for pricing.

Pros: Easy to use and set up.