Hotmail or AOL

[brawburd]

Please excuse my ignorance! Is there any difference between sending an e-mail from Hotmail address or AOL address in relation to its "security"? i.e. is there any difference in the chance of it being read by unauthorised person/s during the sending process?

[darth vader]

GAB All emails are sent using SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol), which is a common standard that all email systems (exchange, groupwise, notes etc) and email applications (outlook, outlook express etc) understand. Unfortunately SMTP is transferred by what is called "ASCII clear text" which basically means the binary equivalent of the standard alphabet (and the other symbols) in a clear, unencrypted form. so the answer is that neither are more or less secure than each other in that both can be intercepted and read without decryption if necessary. That's why it is never wise to send bank details by email

[sft42]

GAB to both of you.....you can, however, get round this if sending important info through email is needed by using encryption tools.... http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Email_Tools/Mail_Encoders _Decoders/free/index1.html will give you a snapshot of what is available.