We use emails for almost everything, from sharing holiday images with friends or tax documents with the accountants. Personal details, financial information, family photos, even social security numbers are usually shared via emails. Emails are one of the most integral aspects of our daily life, if our email access landed in the wrong hands, it has the potential to cause havoc, especially if you are living in a country with a high level of surveillance like 5, 9 and 14 eyes countries. Have you wondered, what is a secure email? There are ways to keep your email secure – some easy, while others seem complicated.
In this article, we will discuss in detail, what is secure email, the importance of securing your email and how to do the job. You will also be able to answer the question: What is email encrytption, what is encrypted email and more.So, let’s get started:
How to Secure your Email?
Well, this section cannot be discussed accurately without touching on what is secure email or what is a secure email account. To answer this question, what is secure email, it protect the content of email from being read by entities other than the initial intended recipients of the email.
Tech experts have suggested tips to secure your email by applying day-to-day easy techniques. Here are some ways which will help you protect and keep your email confidential.
- Your email ID password should be long and a combination of alphabets, numbers and symbols.
- Never choose an obvious answer to your security question, make it unpredictable.
- Use SSL enabled email client that uses OpenPGP encryption.
- Encrypt your email messages and the email server to make the messages unreadable to everyone except you.
Start with a Strong Password
Password is your first line of defence. As mentioned earlier, it should be strong and complicated with a combination of everything. A secure password is the straightforward answer to what is secure email or what is a secure email account.
Always remember a strong password might not guarantee your safety, as per the centre of Identity Ecosystem, even the seemingly innocuous information like your pet name or birth data can be used to dig the securest of information. A hacker can use your account to point the password point of entry and then click forgot password. Moreover, other information can be used to guess your password eventually that is why I mentioned that password is the straightforward answer to what is secure email or what is a secure email account or what is a secure email provider.
Another important thing to remember is that you should not use the same password for more than one account. Keep your password safe with a trusted password manager.
Set up Strong Security Questions
Most sites ask security questions which come in handy while retrieving the password. Sometimes you are asked to choose an answer to a pre-selected list of questions while others allow you to create your own security question.
If you are asked to answer a question of your own choice, then choose an obscure piece which feels extremely difficult to guess.
If you are choosing a question from the prerequisite list, then it is suggested to answer the question falsely but just be sure to keep track of your answers. For instance; lie about the city where you were born or transpose your birthdate, etc.
Use a Secure Email Service
What is email encryption? Well, SSL is an industry-standard which helps to create an encrypted link between an email server and a browser. It helps prevent a website from being hacked. If the web address starts with “HTTP,” then it should ring alarms for you as the website is not using an SSL certificate. If it starts with “https” then use it rather.
One thing to consider is while using the SSL mail server makes sure to save your messages in plain texts. This will ensure that no one can tap into your network without the access of the email server. Any email provider you have has to be able to answer the question: what is a secure email account?
What is Email Encryption?
If you are using a private and secure email, then you are good to go and safe, but you need to encrypt the message itself. This will make the message unreadable to anyone but you and the recipient.
Two of the common message encryption forms are OpenPGP and Multi-purpose and Secure Internet mail extensions. Both of these require contacts to install the security certificates on the computer and then exchange the strings of characters which are more commonly referred to as public keys.
The best form of encryption comes in a VPN package. A VPN, not only provides a higher level of encryption starting from 128bit, but it also routes your emails via a secure tunnel which is nearly impossible to breach. Use an anonymous VPN to protect your email from being read by unwanted parties.
Note: If you are unaware of VPN technology and want to dig deeper about VPN, it’s components and uses, then you should read our guide on “What is a VPN”.
What is encrypted email and why should you use it?
Using an encrypted email means you are able to avoid business risks. Considering that there are so many vulnerabilities in the world today and with private or sensitive information being sent back and forth using unencrypted email services, it makes perfect sense to encrypt your email. When you don’t have an encryption on your email account, just about anyone can gain access to your information locked in your email. If you run a business, it means that your competition can hack your emails and use the information inside against you. This is why you need to encrypt your email as a way to protect your sensitive data.
Additionally, having an encrypted email can help you protect your confidential information. For individuals, having an encrypted email can keep your banking information, social security number or even credit card number secure and this is beyond asking what is a secure email account or what is a secure email provider is. If you don’t have an encryption on your email, nefarious actors might be able to access your personal information and use it for their own nefarious means. Think about it, your identity could be stolen by anyone simply by breaking into your email. This is especially true if you don’t have any sort of encryption on it. In order to avoid any potential issues, then you should get an encryption on your email.
Asking what is an encrypted email means you have no idea that your email messages can be edited before being received by the other party. Yes, your messages can be altered before you send them, completely changing the context of the message or even soliciting for funds on your behalf which would then get siphoned to their coffers. What’s even more alarming is that you wouldn’t be able to tell that you message has been altered and neither would the recipient. Most cases, the message would just be deleted and you would be none the wiser.
What is the best secure email available?
Many people that look for what is secure email, what is a secure email account or what is a secure email provider also want to know what is a secure email provider that is the best among every others.
There are various encrypted email services out there that claim to be the best, but how do you find out which one is best suited to your needs? There are a host of variables you have to consider. We have taken the time to research and test the products out there. Read this to discover the best secure email out there.
How to Send Encrypted Emails on Gmail and Outlook?
Since emails are pretty convenient and are easy to retrieve on almost any device we own, so it is good to know that there is a way around for Gmail and Outlook users.
Gmail
Google announced back in 2014 that it is making encryption as a default setting for Gmail. This means that if you are using any Gmail apps or accessing it from the Chrome browser, then your email is already encrypted. Since it is a big bet, so it only holds true until the email recipient is also using Gmail with this you may not need to look for what is secure email, what is a secure email provider or what is a secure email account as Google/Gmail has helped to secure your email.
Once the email leaves Google’s servers, for instance, if you send it to your friend who uses Yahoo Mail, then the encryption is no longer applied. This is because if the encryption had been there, then the recipient couldn’t read the message as it was encoded using Google’s encryption.
While Google’s step is a huge move to ensure safety, but it still has loopholes that can compromise your privacy on email. There have been many incidents of email IDs being compromised and how can we forget the biggest scandal of Hillary Clinton which brought the world to searching about what is a secure email provider, what is a secure email account or what is secure email and how to get or activate one. Malware is mostly spread across via using emails.
Google maintains the context which is never read by the persona, and if someone is worried about the sanctity of the data, it can be used as a plugins link Snapmail.co.
Outlook
It is not surprising to find a built-in feature for encryption in the infamous outlook while using Office 365 subscription. Setting up the encryption is a little tough, but then that is often considered as a trade-off between any security features. Consider reading this guide on Microsoft site on how to secure email messages on using a digital signature.
After doing so, write an email and before you send the email go to:
Options > more options > message options > security settings > encrypt message attachment and content.
Note: These features are not included in Windows and or outlook.com or mail app and are only limited to paid subscribers so if you are outlook user, you may want to follow these steps when finding about what is a secure email provider or what is secure email.
How to Create a Self Destructing Message?
Another method to secure your email is to delete the message which is sent shortly after they are read by the recipient. An example of it is Snapmail, which allows users to send self-destructing emails. It does feel like James Bond to read the email and seeing it get deleted (destruct), but it involves almost no international villainy.
Search for Snapmail in the Chrome web store and add an extension. Then click on the hamburger menu on the top right corner. A drop-down menu will appear, select more tools> ‘Extensions’ and then scroll down until you find Snapmail. Ensure that it is turned on.
Final Thoughts
Many email and app services promise email encryption, but they don’t use PGP/MIME or S/MIME. These are indeed faster to set up but have their own encryption which may not survive the privacy standard.
Email encryption provides a secure means of sending messages and protects users from unwanted malware and privacy breaches. Securing your email will not only give you an added benefit of ensuring your privacy on the internet jungle but will also give you the self-belief that you are protected and no matter how confidential the information, it is encrypted and away from prying eyes all over. With this article, you have discovered what is a secure email provider, what is secure email and how to protect your self from intruders on the internet.
