A common problem in modern computing, is communication. Many take communication for granted and assume that everything they say or type, is private. However, that’s not always the case. While many products and services are moving to secure and encrypted forms of communication, many things remain unsafe for the masses.

While text messaging and voice communication is out of the scope of this OPA sheet, email is where we’ll focus. Email, sometimes written as e-mail, standing for electronic mail, first launched in the 1990s, at least that’s when email as we know it today began. Email was plain or open text sent, stored, and retrieved off a central server. This meant that anyone with access to that server or email provider service, could access the emails. Today, many providers store emails in a secure manner, but even that’s not a guarantee. Additionally, when emails are sent between providers, such as an email from Gmail to Yahoo!, are often sent through unsecured means. A way to guarantee email privacy and security is by encrypting the message. That used to be cumbersome to setup, but today it’s much easier.

Many services are building in private, secure, or confidential messaging that allows users to send encrypted or private emails. Some even have added privacy features, such as self-destruct, limit forwarding of messaging, and prevent downloading of attachments. The next time you look for a new email provider or want to send a message with sensitive content, be sure you use encrypted or secure email.