What Is Encryption?
—Updated November 2015
Encryption is a method of scrambling an e-mail message or file so that it is gibberish to anyone who does not know how to unscramble it. The privacy advantage of encryption is that anything encrypted is virtually inaccessible to anyone other than the designated recipient.
Thus, private information may be encrypted and then transmitted, stored, or distributed without fear that it will be read by others.
Strong encryption programs such as PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) are available online. A new version for Windows was released in November 2015, and you can download it for free.
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Related Questions:
- What should I do if my online account has been hacked?
- How do I know if a website is trustworthy?
- Are cybercafes, airports, libraries and other publicly-available Internet terminals private?
- What should I know about privacy policies?
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Read more:
- Online Privacy
- California Online Privacy Laws
- California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA)
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
- Protecting Your Child’s Online Privacy
- Teens’ Online Privacy
- Recent Online Privacy Legislation in California
- Tips for Safe Internet Use
- Is Your Computer Secure?
- Frequently Asked Questions About Online Privacy