Since your email message, and that of everyone else, must pass from one server to another to finally reach intended recipient, that message can be intercepted at any of those servers through which it must pass.

Your personal message to a loved one can become a public document on Internet thus exposing your inner most feelings and intimate thoughts.

Emailing a co-worker about sensitive business information can fall into hands of someone friendly with your competition. Those sales projections or notes on a new client could easily be turned against you.

That would be truly unfortunate since technology already exists for making your email messages secure.

The best solution is that of email encryption.

There are many email encryption options which are available to average Internet user and many of these options are FREE to use. Not bad for getting that James Bondish feeling.

Perhaps best of these options is a software program called Pretty Good Privacy, PGP. It is free to use and to distribute and has been around longer than I have been on Internet, since 1991.

"PGP® or Pretty Good Privacy® is a powerful cryptographic product family that enables people to securely exchange messages, and to secure files, disk volumes and network connections with both privacy and strong authentication." PGP is Freeware.

Download your FREE copy of this software at: http://www.pgpi.org/

Another solution is Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, S/MIME protocol, an industry standard supported by almost all of latest email programs and web browsers, including Microsoft and Netscape.

S/MIME incorporates Digital Certificates, which authenticate identity of an emails sender and receiver, verify integrity of a message and ensures privacy of content.

It only takes a few minutes to get a Digital Certificate in order to secure your email. However, it does cost $ 14.95 per year to maintain certificate. You can try it for 60 days FREE at:

We managed to find several, completely "FREE Secure Email Services", that we have compiled in a list via Auto-Responder at: mailto:secure_email@emailexchange.org

Another excellent FREE source of Privacy info is The Electronic Privacy Information Center, EPIC. They offer an online guide that shows users how to get PGP and other encryption programs as well as how to surf anonymously and dealing with cookies.

The EPIC guide also shows users how to download PGP via email: You just send a request to mailto:ftp-request@netcom.com with Subject line "SEND mpj/getpgp.asc."

You can access their FREE Resources at: http://www.epic.org/privacy ools.html

Most of us can not see need for secure email.

But it is important to consider in this day and age where your email can be read by unintended people and it is certainly a cure for identity theft which can harm your peace of mind and also your pocket book.

Exceptions

No rules are perfect, so we should all learn to put what we read into perspective when considering our own businesses. So, even if you're product is expensive or complicated to understand, if that's better 'shown' at a web site than 'told' in an email, send people directly to your site.

As well, you can use email information courses to keep referring people back to your site for just one simple product.

Ways To Compliment A Site With an Auto Responder

I've had quite a few hits on an auto responder I placed on my site. I simply ask, "In a hurry? Want more information by email?" and provide a link. That way, even though everything is right there on my site, if they are intrigued but don't want to spend much time right then, there is a way they can get more information later, and I still get to keep in contact with them.

Also, you can offer different information courses through auto responders and put them on your site. This way, even if people don't buy from their initial visit, you'll get repeat contact and get multiple chances to convince them to return.

Auto responders are extremely useful. There's no replacing them. It's just a matter of considering your product or opportunity, and your options when deciding how best to use them.