http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reviews/Compare/Crypto/?st.cn.fd.main.re
CNET reviews the best all-purpose encryption clients
By Cormac Foster
(4/29/98)
Some say the only people who need digital encryption are terrorists,
pedophiles, and other forms of unsavory miscreants. Still others say you
need to be a computer science whiz to be able to use an encryption
product.
If you don't qualify for either of these groups, don't panic. You still
have a right to privacy, no matter what they say.
The fact is we all want a little privacy; that's why we have blinds for
our windows, envelopes for our letters, and locks for our drawers. Our PCs
are no different. Consider how much sensitive information you keep on your
PC, from private letters to financial data. Now consider that unencrypted
email is like a postcard, while an unencrypted file on your hard drive is
comparable to an open safe.
To help you lock up your sensitive information, we've rounded up five
all-purpose encryption clients. All of these clients are
public-key-based, which means you can use them to conceal your email
messages as well as your local files. And you don't need a pocket
protector to use these products--most are one-button easy. The best ones
integrate seamlessly with your apps, so you can encrypt anything you want
without slowing down your productivity.
We didn't include S/MIME products because their promise of cross-email
compatibility is currently limited to breakable 40-bit encryption, and
they don't encrypt local files. If you're concerned about encryption and
U.S. export laws, check out our related links below. To see what we think
is important in an encryption client, click "What to look for" or go
straight to the product reviews, and find out which encryption client we'd
use to protect our private stuff.
-o-
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Received on Fri May 1 09:01:31 1998