I went out in search of some kind of free secure email solution that
would at least provide a line of communication that was secure enough so
that if anyone wanted to see what we were discussing, they’d at least
have to put quite a bit of effort and resources into it. As always, I
checked MakeUseOf first. We’ve got great coverage of secure
communications, such as Jorge’s article on
FireGPG for Gmail,
OneTimeMessage for secure and self-destructing emails, and Tina’s
useful list of 5 online encryption tools.
All
useful, but nothing quite
offered the 2-way secure and encrypted line
of communication that I needed. After a fair amount of searching, I came
across a free app that fit the bill called VaultletSuite.
Set Up A Secure Line Of Communication
A
secure two-way connection is a tall order when you’re dealing with a
highly-funded military complex that surely has decryption software the
likes of which you could only imagine. With that said, that doesn’t mean
that it’s a walk in the park to decrypt well-encrypted email
correspondence. So setting up a secure way to communicate is well worth
the effort.
With VaultletSuite – or VaultletMail, which is the tool within the
suite I’ll be focusing on – once you install the software, just click to
log in, and then click on the link on the login page to set up a new
account. In just two or three “Next” clicks, you’ll find yourself
staring at your brand-spanking new, highly secure webmail account.
For
the most secure connection, both people should sign up for a
VaultletMail account, and both people should install the software.
According to its about page, the software uses a 2048 bit RSA public key
as well as 256 AES encryption to send messages, and it is capable of
doing so in multiple languages. While the software won’t protect you
from a keylogger you may have on your PC, which will pass along your
password you used to log into VaultletMail, the system
will protect you, for the most part, from individuals trying to intercept and extract information from your Internet communications.
When
you’re composing a VaultletMail email to a friend that has an account
in the system, you have several options for further security. The
padlock button says it will “protect messages” before sending them to
recipients outside the VaultletMail system. How can that possibly work?
This
is actually an integrated tool called SpecialDelivery. The
SpecialDelivery system will send your intended recipient an initial
email, which they must respond to by choosing a passphrase that will
protect all encrypted messages you send them. After they’ve accepted
your initial email and set up their passphrase, you can send them
encrypted emails any time and the communications are secure.
The software also has the ability to prevent the recipient from forwarding, quoting, copying or even printing out the email.
The
coolest feature as far as I’m concerned is what I call the
“self-destructing message” tool. Click on the little clock icon in the
menu, and you can decide now long the message will stay available in
their Inbox after they’ve viewed it, and you can also limit the number
of times it can be viewed.
For an added James Bond touch, add a sentence to the end of your email that reads, “
…and this message will self destruct in 30 minutes.”
You
can also configure how the sent message itself is stored in your own
mailbox. If you’re sending a message that you don’t want anyone at all
to read other than the recipient, you can just set a very short life to
the email, and then click “
Do not keep Sender’s copy” in the options menu for ScopeControl and HalfLife.
Another
feature for some added privacy – if you’re sending the message to a
VaultletSoft recipient, you can make yourself anonymous by selecting “
sender.name.withheld@vaultletsoft.com” in the “From” dropdown list.
Here’s a good example of a secure email in the inbox, with no sender listed and a self-destruct time of 31 days.
If
you live in a region of the world where Internet communication is
regularly intercepted, using this encrypted system as your regular email
service would be a very smart idea. At the very least, it will make it
very difficult for the government to access your traffic, and nearly
impossible for an amateur to view it.
Give VaultletSuite a try and let me know whether you agree that it’s one of the easiest email encryption systems in the world.
from http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/exchange-secure-encrypted-emails-vaultletsuite/
