In this post I’ll discuss a few different ways that certain software can make you more secure.

There are two programs out there that you can use that are free to use along with source code available. They are not the only ones out there. There are so many more, but because they are free, it’s as good a place as any to start at.

Will encryption stop people from accessing my information?
My father told me once many years ago, “locks only keep honest people out”. with that being said, you should understand that encryption is that there are algorithms that are used to encrypt the information. Depending and the complexity of the coding, will make it harder for hackers to “break” the code. Code have been broken before, but that’s because the person kept working on it until he/she figured it out.

Why bother to encrypt my email?

You should be aware that email is far less secure than paper mail for two very good reasons: first, electronic data can be accessed quite easily over an Internet and secondly, electronic data is simple to copy. There is a very good chance that someone has snooped around in your email despite your best efforts to stop it.

How do I go about encrypting my email?
There are many good programs out there that can help you accomplish this. The one that I’ll mention is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy).

PGP (http://www.pgpi.org/) self-describes itself this way: This “is a program that gives your electronic mail something that it otherwise doesn’t have: Privacy. It does this by encrypting your mail so that nobody but the intended person can read it. When encrypted, the message looks like a meaningless jumble of random characters. PGP has proven itself quite capable of resisting even the most sophisticated forms of analysis aimed at reading the encrypted text.”

Why bother to encrypt my files?
Well that depends on what information you’re keeping on your computer. The more personal the information is, the more you should be encrypting the files.Most corporate Internet security employees will attest to the widespread theft of very valuable information. As long as you are connected to the Internet you are vulnerable.