Millions of people worldwide unknowingly send unsecured emails to each other every day. What they do not know is that these emails can be intercepted and read by any common hacker who takes an interest in their personal communications. It probably does not matter if a hacker reads the majority of your emails but if a hacker happens to read an email that includes your credit card information or other important data, you could find yourself in some serious trouble. In this article, we will explain how email encryption works and several examples of email encryption software.

What is Email Encryption

Email encryption is a service that many online companies are now providing for minimal fees or sometimes even for no charge at all. Email encryption works by assigning you a public key and a private key. Your public key is the one that you give others, whether to a specific individual or to the open market. Your private key is the one that you keep and do not show to anyone. When someone uses your public key to encrypt an email and send it to you, only your private key can decrypt the email. You can also use your private key to digitally sign your emails so that the recipient can be positive that the email is coming from you.


Postini

Postini is a service provided by Google to protect and archive your emails while also guarding your web browser at the same time. Postini stops spam, viruses, phishing attacks, and other web-based attacks from accessing your email and harming your computer. Postini also provides its customers with an advanced email encryption method to secure your emails 24/7. Postini performance is constantly monitored by Google which means that you can set it up for your business or personal use and never have to worry about securing your emails again.


Zix Encryption

Zix Encryption is the leading email encryption service in the world and offers their services to a grand directory of nearly 20 million members. Zix Email Encryption guards the vital information that you transmit through email communication. Zix Email Encryption is marketed specifically to corporations, companies, and small businesses but anyone who wants to secure their private information is able to use Zix Encryption without any technical knowledge or advanced computer skills. Zix Encryption uses a high-end, easy-to-use encryption software to seamlessly scramble your emails and then unscramble them when they reach the correct recipient. Anyone who is attempting to hack into your emails will be surprisingly disappointed.


Barracuda Networks

Barracuda Networks serves to supply educational systems, government agencies, service providers, enterprises, corporations, medium-sized companies, and small businesses with advanced email encryption, spam filtering, and virus protection for large volumes of email traffic. Barracuda Networks is a strong company who is rapidly growing due to their efficient methods at securing email accounts and email communications on a global scale. With Barracuda Networks, you never have to worry about emails being compromised, especially when they contain very sensitive information such as account data, financial information, or other private communications.

PGP Email Encryption

PGP Email Encryption is a secure and reliable method of protecting sensitive data. PGP is a large corporation which has acquired Chosen Security as well as others and focuses their services specifically on encrypting information such as that found on hard drives, servers, and in email communications. PGP Email Encryption is not the most well known or the most powerful encryption on the market but their focused dedication to securing data and providing excellent customer support outweighs any other on the web.


Trend Micro Email Encryption Client

Trend Micro Email Encryption Client was awarded 5 stars by the SoftSea software database for providing its customers with an easy tool to secure their email communications. While many other email encryption services are marketed towards high-profile business leaders, the Trend Micro Email Encryption Client is for anyone with an email address. Trend Micro allows you send and receive emails effortlessly without having to worry about the encryption that is being generated when you click "send".


Entrust Email Encryption

Entrust Email Encryption plugs right into almost any popular email client and encrypts your data without you even knowing about it. Entrust Email Encryption protects your data by encrypting it and then sending it through a series of rerouted servers that provide an extra layer of protection between your emails and hackers who may or may not be attempting to intercept your email messages. Entrust Email Encryption offers their services to individuals, companies, and government agencies alike and has been approved by the highest standards of email encryption.