TDA said:
How do I protect a message sent in Outlook so only the recipient can
open it?
The file I attach is password protected but the message content is
open to
anyone who happens to find the Inbox open.
Get a certificate so you can encrypt the contents of your e-mails.
Thawte mail certs are free but don't identify the sender beyond their
e-mail address (unless you go through their Web-Of-Trust notary scheme
to get more details added to your mail cert). However, mail certs work
a bit opposite than you might think. You encrypt your mails using the
public key in *recipient's* mail cert. That is, you cannot send
encrypted e-mails to someone unless that someone has given you their
public key for their mail cert. When they receive your encrypted
e-mail, they use their private key to decrypt what you encrypted using
their public key. The public and private keys are paired and the only
ones that work together. To send them encrypted e-mail, you first need
to receive a digitally signed mail from them that you save. For them to
send you encrypted mail, you first need to send them a digitally signed
mail to them that they save. The sender needs to get the public key for
the recipient's mail certificate, so the recipient dictates whether or
not they will handle encrypted mails.
