-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- *** Frequently Asked Questions About E-Mail Privacy *** by Andre Bacard, Author of "Computer Privacy Handbook" [FAQ Version April 28, 1995] ============================================================ This article offers a nontechnical overview of possible threats to YOUR e-mail privacy, and it suggests two key steps that you can take to guard your privacy. I have written this especially for persons with a sense of humor. You may distribute this (unaltered) FAQ for non- commercial purposes. =========================================================== Can people (secretly) read your e-mail? Very likely yes. Most electronic mail is notoriously UNPRIVATE. E-mail is less secure, and in many ways more dangerous, than sending your personal or business messages on a postcard. Who secretly reads your e-mail? A MACWORLD survey found that roughly 25% of the businesses contacted admitted that they eavesdrop on employee computer files, e-mail, or voice mail. This 25% excludes unauthorized e-mail monitoring. When I asked a Silicon Valley C.E.O. if he uses e-mail, he said: "Hell no, Andre. Half the nerds in my company can hack e-mail. E-mail is a party line!" Internet e-mail, the kind that brought you this FAQ, is child's play for some people to intercept. Your typical e-mail message travels through many computers. At each computer, people can access your personal and business correspondence. It's a safe bet that administrators (not to mention hackers) on Bulletin Board Systems, college campus systems, commercial information services, and Internet hook-up providers can read your e-mail. Of course most snoops will deny they're reading your e-mail because they want to continue doing so. Doesn't my password protect me? Charles Piller, in his excellent article entitled "Bosses With X-Ray Eyes," reports on a study MACWORLD made of Macintosh software. Here is part of Piller's conclusion: "All the major electronic-mail and groupware products that combine messaging, file management, and scheduling (such as WordPerfect Office) allow the network administrator to change passwords at any time, then read, delete, or alter any messages on the server. With few exceptions, network-monitor programs such as AG Group's LocalPeek, Farallon Computing's Traffic Watch II, and Neon Software's NetMinder, allow astute managers to read files transmitted over the net. In short, these tools are only slightly less invasive than others specifically designed for surveillance and used primarily on mainframe systems." Unix, Dos and other software networks are just as easy for administrators to manipulate. Who is to stop your Internet hook-up provider or any network supervisor from using or distributing your password? Doesn't my e-mail vanish after I read and "delete" it? In many cases, NO! Many Internet providers and network administrators "archive" (store) your incoming and outgoing mail on a computer disk for six months or more AFTER you think that you've deleted your mail. If someone sues you (for example, in a divorce), he or she may be able to subpoena and READ your previous correspondence. Of course, unauthorized snoops might chose to read your archive for their own reasons. What motivates a snoop? Maybe he's a thief who sells company business plans or customer lists. Perhaps she's the office intriguer trying to play people against you. Possibly he's a computer stalker like the fellow who shot actress Rebecca Schaffer to death. Conceivably she's a blackmailer. Maybe he's an old-fashioned voyeur. Information is power. Snoops want power. Whatsamatter, I've got nothing to hide. Why do I need e-mail privacy? Show me an e-mail user who has no financial, sexual, social, political, or professional secrets to keep from his family, his neighbors, or his colleagues, and I'll show you someone who is either an extraordinary exhibitionist or an incredible dullard. Show me a corporation that has no trade secrets or confidential records, and I'll show you a business that is not very successful. Robert Ellis Smith, Publisher of the PRIVACY JOURNAL, quips, "An employee with nothing to hide may well be an employee with nothing to offer." Privacy, discretion, confidentiality, and prudence are hallmarks of civilization. OK, maybe I could use e-mail privacy. What can I do? There are two big, practical steps that you can take. First, use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software to encrypt your e-mail (and computer files) so that snoops cannot read them. PGP is the de facto world standard software for e-mail security. Second, use anonymous remailers to send e-mail to network news groups or to persons so that the recipient (and snoops) cannot tell your real name or e-mail address. Where can I learn more about these privacy tools? Two excellent places to start are the Usenet news groups alt.security.pgp and alt.privacy.anon-server. Also, I've written FAQs about Anonymous Remailers and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). See below. Anything else I should know? YOUR privacy and safety are in danger! Prolific bank, credit and medical databases, e-mail monitoring, computer matching programs, cordless & cellular phone scanners, the Clipper Chip Initiative, the Digital Telephony law, and (hidden) video surveillance are just a few factors that threaten every law abiding citizen. In short, our anti-privacy society can serve criminals and snoops computer data about YOU on a silver platter. If you want to PROTECT your privacy, I urge you to support groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Electronic Privacy Information Center . Andre, have you written other privacy-related FAQs? I'm circulating an (1) Anonymous Remailer FAQ, (2) E-Mail Privacy FAQ, and (3) PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) Software FAQ. To get these FAQs, send me this: To: abacard@well.com Subject: Help Message: [Ignored] **************************************************************** Andre Bacard, Bacard wrote "The Computer Privacy abacard@well.com Handbook: A Practical Guide to E-Mail Stanford, CA Encryption, Data Protection, and PGP Privacy Software" [for novices/experts]. Introduction written by Mitchell Kapor, Creator of Lotus 1-2-3 and Co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Book Available from Bookstores or: Peachpit Press at (800) 283-9444, ISBN # 1-56609-171-3 ***************************************************************** -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.7 iQCVAwUBL6GiY96pT6nCx/9/AQHrBwQApWftYmHFkz/KrK/gvf0OgJ2H0DKq28z1 xELFGAvFxDPn597BUkguEaJYyFSx9EW3kTMM3TgmuW7n9ob/AZOTWSvHBH/KE7GR Yb0b7UfDoZtTi5h7CyrbnLYlOBH3aVE7Ov1sroW64E59nMsbP3IAOWDWCTlgW5pi Cg6BkXETack= =0Y3R -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----