Email encruption - has anyone actually done it?

[AnnieMS]

I'm having to send some legal-type emails and I'd like to have a signature and encrypt them. The private key/public key scheme is not practical. So I'd like to use an authority like Verisign - I can't find my notes today but I think you get a signature thru them and w/ a signature you can encrypt?

Has anyone actually done this and have a recommendation for which authority is easiest/friendliest for the average joe or jane?

There was a thread I found on my search here today re email encryption , pgp or other email security solution ?, but firefox wouldn't take me there. Kept saying "firefox has determined this redirection will never complete".

[Tripredacus]

That link is broken. Here is the correct link:

http://www.msfn.org/board/remote-access-private-address-t119858.html

[AnnieMS]

Thanks Tripredacus.

But that link led to a thread on forwarding to a private ip and not email encryption. Maybe I copied the wrong link.

[cluberti]

The problem is you're not talking about encryption through a provider like verisign, that's tunneling and means nothing for mail (I'm guessing your link is simply invalid). If you want encryption with a public PKI (which you would undoubtedly want for external mail recipients), you would want something like this.

[AnnieMS]

Thanks cluberti,

Yes, I think that's what I need to get - a public PKI. If I'm remembering correctly, you can encrypt email using a public/private key - but then you have to get the private key to anyone to whom you want to send an encrypted email - somehow in a secure manner. I thought the second way was to have a verified signature - thru VeriSign or another method, but maybe I've got the different ways you can get a verified signature confused w/ the different ways you can encrypt email since VeriSign or another authority can be used for both.

I was wondering if anyone has actually done this - gotten a verified signature or encrypted their email. Just reading about it can be very different from actually doing it . Currently I'm not using Outlook 'cause it keeps crashing, so it's moot at the moment.