Email

E-mail authentication -- confirmation that the stated sender actually sent the message in question -- could make many e-mail hassles fade away, since most scams and computer viruses rely on bogus sender information to lull recipients into a false sense of security. Encryption is also a good idea, given the increasing prevalence of snoopy software.

Ciphire Mail, a new and soon-to-be-open-source application, claims to put an end to these sorts of annoyances with strong and user-friendly e-mail authentication and encryption. The Ciphire Mail application, free for individual users, nonprofit organizations and the press, works in conjunction with all standard e-mail programs. It operates almost invisibly in the background, encrypting and decrypting e-mail missives and digitally signing each message to confirm its source. Source: Wired Magazine, Jan. 20, 2005