...thawte.com, and this immediately adds you as an "Unverified" user. This means that you can have as many free email certificates as you want or need (one is usually enough!) straight away...
* The catch? - Thawte have not yet validated you - The datails you give might be fake, the email address ... Read review
Advantages: Free and really secure... Disadvantages: Slow to get started
Ever wondered whether your boss reads your emails - Looking for a new job, and don't want your emailed applications read by half the company? How about those love letters to the secretary down the corridor? Email security is easier than you might think!
Recently, encryption has been given a bad name by some nasty terrorists, and people are crying that it should be illegal... Do you really think that would bother the terrorists if it ... ...use, and there are times when it can be useful...
>>> Email security offers two basic facilities:
* Encrypt your email - This requires that both you and the recipient(s) have electronic "Certificates" which identify you, and which are password protected. Mail can then be encrypted (garbled) by applying mathematical formulae to the text so that only the intended recipient(s) will be able to easily read ... more
Ever wondered whether your boss reads your emails - Looking for a new job, and don't want your emailed applications read by half the company? How about those love letters to the secretary down the corridor? Email security is easier than you might think!
Recently, encryption has been given a bad name by some nasty terrorists, and people are crying that it should be illegal... Do you really think that would bother the terrorists if it was illegal? So, the facility is there for you to use, and there are times when it can be useful...
>>> Email security offers two basic facilities:
* Encrypt your email - This requires that both you and the recipient(s) have electronic "Certificates" which identify you, and which are password protected. Mail can then be encrypted (garbled) by applying mathematical formulae to the text so that only the intended recipient(s) will be able to easily read the message.
* Sign your email - When sending a paper message, adding your signature to the bottom adds legal weight to the contents of the letter, and indicates that you really did write it. A similar process is possible with email (Recently, the law changed, and email signatures are now considered to be legally binding.) This process requires only that the sender has an electronic "Certificate" with which to identify themselves. In this case, the email is still readable, but it is possible to check a) Who signed it and b) that the message has not been altered since it was signed.
These facilities are readily available in Outlook and Netscape mail software, and several other mail clients.
>>> So, what is the "Thawte Web of Trust" ?
It is a way of getting freebie email certificates, which work in the major email clients (Outlook, Netscape and more)
You sign up at their website http://www.thawte.com, and this immediately adds you as an "Unverified" user. This means that you can have as many free email certificates as you want or need (one is usually enough!) straight away...
* The catch? - Thawte have not yet validated you - The datails you give might be fake, the email address might belong to someone else and so on, so at this stage, they will not allow you to have your name in the certificates. They still function, but they are harder, or at least less friendly to use.
* So how do I proceed? - The Web of Trust is a system whereby trusted "Notaries" around the world are able to confirm your identity. Using a points system, you will need to meet at least 3 notaries, and earn 50 "identity points" from them, at which point, you can use your full name in the email certificates they provide. Because you are identified in person, physical records can be kept to prove that you are the owner of the certificates.
* How are Notaries chosen? - Simple. A WOT Notary is someone who earns 100 or more "identity points" - Which is why it is called a "Web" of Trust.
It's a simple workable system, with sufficient Notaries now in place around the UK and the World that anyone can join in...
>>> Why do Thawte do it?
* To promote easy access to secure email.
* To make a profit by selling other types of secure certificates and corporate upgrades of the free WOT certificates... They aren't silly!
