BS: Sending Files by Email

Subject: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 04:23 AM

Can anyone advise me whether it is safer to send files as an Email attachment or enclosed within the body of the message itself?

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 05:13 AM

Generally, anything that is part of an email or attached to it is subject to the same safety and vulnerabilities as the mail itself. Anyone who intercepts the email has the attachments along with the message body.

In some email programs, anything you "insert into the message" also appears as an attachment, and some programs display anything that is an attachment of a common kind in the body of the email, usually at the bottom of the message. If you're using one of these programs, either method appears to the recipient as if you used both.

For some kinds of attachments, you can "password protect" the attachment before you attach it, so that the attachment can't be opened (easily) without the password. You need to be careful about what you protect, since the default usually is just to require a password to change the attachment and you probably want the password to be required to see the attachment.

This means the recipient must have the password in advance, or you need to send it separately. (Obviously? you don't put the password in the email that contains the attachement - we'd hope.)

Some people consider FAX a more "secure" method than email, and banks and mortgage companies are usually willing to have documents transmitted in/out that way. If the attachment is of an appropriate kind, you can run it down to Kinkos/FedEx or other service and have them FAX it for you. (That doesn't work too well for photos though, unless b/w 100 dpi is good enough.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: GUEST,Jim Martin
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 05:36 AM

Thanks for that John.

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Jack Campin
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 06:48 AM

Some email programs don't do a very good job of encoding or decoding files that are placed in-line - attaching is more likely to work if you are sending to somebody with a different email program from yours.

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 09:42 AM

Of course you've got to make sure the attachment is in a format that the recipient can open.

For example, if you use Microsoft Office 2007 to create a document with the ".docx" extension (the default), and the recipient doesn't have the same software, he won't be able to open the document.

There are ways around the difficulty: You can save the document in a different format, or the recipient can download and install a free conversion program.

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Greg F.
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 10:12 AM

The BEST and EASIEST way around this difficulty, if the information is sensitive & needs protection, is to send it certified or registered postal mail.

There is very little in this world that actually needs to be sent & recieved instantaneously.

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 11:06 AM

Or... these days there are many online places where you can store files and share them with anyone. They can be password protected, encrypted first...whatever.

See this list

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Rapparee
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 02:09 PM

Look. ANYTHING you send over the Internet or World Wide Web, anything sent or said by telephone (land line or cellular, anything send by post, is subject to interception.

If you remember this, you can be paranoid enough to avoid people intercepting your messages.

Remember: The Wehrmacht had Ultra, a very sophisticated encryption system in WW2, and the Allies read their messages. One very significant reason the Battle of the Bulge was such a surprise was that the Generals in charge were old fashioned and sent plans by courier rather than by Ultra.

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: olddude
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 02:35 PM

zip your file attachment and encrypt it, there are a lot of free zip programs out there that have some good encryption facilites to password protect the file. Just let the person receiving it know what the password is ..(outside of the email of course) that is easier than shared keys like PGP (pretty good privacy) programs or paying for the security service for keys

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 03:19 PM

For the recipient it's always safer if things come as part of the text of an e-mail message. Attachments always have the possibility of carrying viruses, or of the recipient not being able to open the attachment.
I think that too often, people send attachments when they don't need to. If I don't absolutely trust an attachment, I won't open it. Viruses sometimes use the e-mails of some of my closest friends, particularly the friends who are well-meaning but technically clueless.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Rapparee
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 03:38 PM

PGP was broken by some guys in Israel a few years back. But no matter what you do, you take a chance. You just want to drop your chances of the baddies getting it to as close to zero as you can -- and most crackers aren't going to have the facilities to break PGP or any other GOOD encryption program.

Governments, on the other hand, do have such facilities...so don't send anything of national security interest.

I generally send files as a PDF attachment and don't worry about encryption. Of course, I don't send passwords, logins, social security numbers or bank information that way!

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 04:48 PM

A guide to various tricks, including self-extracting archives which are protected by passwords.

Also, EVERYONE should know about ROT13 & ROT47, which simply rearrange letters in a text message. IF all one is trying to do is avoid a simple search on word patterns, or keep prying eyes from reading a message easily, one of those would do fine.

$66 9@H 62DJ :E :Dn p== J@F ?665 E@ 5@ :D 2AA=J #~%cf E@ E9:D]

go here to read the above. (C & P)

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 05:12 PM

even more information and encoding box

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Greg F.
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 05:27 PM

Yup, by the time ya take all these contorted electronic, software, encription & other precautions, the document would have been there a week ago by postal mail.

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Apr 10 - 06:59 PM

No, Greg... one can download, install and send the required file in 10-15 minutes using a couple of the links I noted. There nothing 'contorted' about most of them...... and you trust the **Post Office** totally? *grin*

Subject: RE: BS: Sending Files by Email
From: Greg F.
Date: 08 Apr 10 - 08:26 AM

I don't trust ANYONE totally- not even you Bill. ;>)

But by the same token, I'm not paranoid either, & think you've a lot less to fear in these sorts of things from THE GUMMINT (thank you, Ron Reagan & the Tea Party)than from some of the a$$holes that infest the internet - so why make it easy for 'em?

Sometimes the simplest solution IS the best.