You're getting warmer, but this still isn't going to do trick. It's a good way to stop packet sniffers from searching for key words in a file, but unfortunately it is not as secure as you might think. If you ever forget a Zip, Word or Excel password, don't worry, just download password tool from Last Bit Software www.PasswordTools.com, it works very well. There are many other packages out on Internet but Last Bit's tool is most robust and easy to use, if a bit slower that some others.

So what can I do about it? ==========================

OK, so now that you understand threat, what can you do about it?

. Stop using Internet? - More than a few professionals are returning to phone calls and faxes for all their important communications.

. Complain to your IT department? - If you have an IT department in your company this is a good place to start. But did spam mail stop when you complained about it to your LAN administrator? Unfortunately he is almost as helpless as you are. . Encrypt your communications with PKI, etc. - For email this is a bit drastic, and can be very expensive, especially since you will need to install a key on each PC and coordinate this with receivers of your email messages, your IT organization, etc.

. Use FileCourier - This is by far easiest and most cost effective way to protect your email attachments, or replace FTP transmissions. It takes out "idiot in middle" with a very clever solution.

The FileCourier approach to Security ====================================

I believe that FileCourier is easiest out-of-the box secure communication system available.

FileCourier approaches Internet data transfer security in a unique way. Until FileCourier was first released in December of 2002, all secure email and file transmission systems relied on encrypting data during tried and true method of "upload, store, and forward". When you send an email, it and any documents attached to it are first transmitted to one or more intermediate servers. These mail server store documents and then attempt to forward it to receivers email server. To secure transmission of email requires either servers to use extra encryption software technology, or forces individual sender and receivers to install encryption software and their associated keys, or both. Not only is this a costly and time consuming exercise but it also often fails to protect data over complete path of transmission. What do you do if receiver is in another company and doesn't have any encryption software installed? What if his company is using a difference encryption standard? Ignoring complexity of existing secure email and FTP systems their biggest failings continue to be "idiot in middle". From a nosey email or FTP server administrator, to a hungry co-worker, to an incompetent who lets a hacker have free reign of their server, if your sensitive documents are stored on a server maintained by someone else then that person, or his company, can view your documents. The FileCourier approach is creative, yet simple. FileCourier utilizes existing email and instant messaging systems in same way you use an envelope to send a letter thru US postal service, as a wrapper for real content. We assume that EVERYONE can read what is in email, so we don't send your documents in email at all. In fact your documents never leave your PC, until receiver of email requests it. How it works FileCourier lets you ticket file you want to email, and then instead of sending file in email, sends a "FileTicket" instead. The file is only transmitted to receiver of email when he opens FileTicket and is "authenticated". After receiver is authenticated file is transmitted through an SSL (secure socket layer) tunnel directly from sender's PC to receiver's PC through our secure relay servers. SSL is same security used by banks and is impossible for packet sniffers to penetrate. With FileCourier each packet is encrypted using a 1024 bit key and is delivered to your receiver through his browser. FileCourier lets your communications go un-detected by any sniffer, and removes "idiot in middle" threat by never storing data on an intermediate server. More over, FileCourier is easiest way to secure your sensitive data transmission in both an Internet and corporate LAN environment.

Take Action Now! ================

Internet communications security is one of most important privacy issues we face today. It might feel a bit paranoid for a law-abiding citizen to encrypt his email communications and computer document transmissions, but would you send a customers contract thru normal mail without an envelope? How would you feel if your employer sent your next pay stub to you on back of a postcard? Use FileCourier, just like you would use a envelope for regular mail. Download no obligation free trial today at www.filecourier.com. and send 50MB of data securely for free!

Spammers use "spider software" to crawl web and harvest email address, so if you have a personal or company website that has your email posted on it, sooner or later a spam spider is going to grab your address and add it to mill. Likewise when you sign up to take online surveys or receive email newsletters, you are potentially exposing yourself to spammers.

How can you reduce amount of spam you get? Many people think that you can't fight spam, so you should just accept it and move on. In other words, you can not fight Borg, so smile and be assimilated into fold. While spam is hard to eliminate, there are things you can do to lessen amount of spam you receive and it's impact on your daily business life.

First, stop clicking on "unsubscribe" links at bottom of spam emails. While some of links are valid and will get you removed from spammer's lists, other are actually there just to let spammer know that your address is valid. Click link to unsubscribe and you might actually see amount of spam you receive increase.

Second, it's a good idea to have at least two e-mail addresses. Use one for personal or business use, and other for surveys and online purchases.

Third, consider installing a spam blocking software on your computer or company network. There are a variety of spam blocking applications on market that range in price from free to a hundred bucks. Though none of them will completely eliminate spam, they can greatly reduce volume you receive. Search Web for "spam filter" and investigate ones that you feel are right for you.

Your Internet Service Provider should also offer an anti-spam application, but be careful how you use it. I have a client who recently increased sensitivity of their ISP spam blocker to point that nothing was getting delivered to their company email accounts, including their own company newsletter. They had effectively built an email brick wall that stopped spam and everything else. Not a good idea.

Before investing in a commercial spam blocker you might also try adjusting email filtering settings in your email software. Microsoft Outlook, for example, lets you set rules for handling incoming mail. The same is true with Outlook Express, Eudora, and Apple's Mail OSX. Each have built-in filtering features that can help eliminate unwanted email by parameters you set.

One thing to remember is that if spam didn't work, it would quickly go away. In other words, if spammers weren't profiting from sending unwanted emails they would go do something else.

Probably become a telemarketer or credit card debt collector.

Whether you use a commercial product or rely on your existing email software to filter out spam, just be careful that you don't batten down hatches so tight that you no longer receive any email at all.

Here's to your success!

Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net For information on starting your own online or eBay business, visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net