Netiquette IQ - Privacy For Email Users From Google - Via Netiquette IQ

For all of those looking for email privacy, Google seems to have a solution. The article below summarizes this.
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Dominic Rushe  theguardian.com, Wednesday 4 June 2014 12.17 EDT

Google moves to boost email privacy by releasing end-to-end encryption tool

Tech giant says almost 50% of emails sent between Gmail and other email providers are not encrypted

Google is hoping its new Chrome service will make end-to-end encryption an easy option for its users. Photograph: Dean Murray/Rex Features

Google has moved to encourage more people to encrypt their email, releasing source code aimed at offering an extra layer of privacy protection.

The move comes as the tech giant announced its support for Reset the Net, a coordinated day of action set for Thursday to oppose mass surveillance online.

Companies including Reddit, Mozilla and DuckDuckGo, as well as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight For the Future and Greenpeace are planning a day of action on Thursday. Other big names in the tech community are expected to lend their support.

Other announcements similar to Google’s are expected while other sites will display information about how people can improve their online privacy.

In a blogpost, Google said its data showed that approximately 40-50% of emails sent between Gmail and other email providers are not encrypted. “Many providers have turned on encryption, and others have said they’re going to, which is great news. As they do, more and more emails will be shielded from snooping,” the company said.

Gmail has “always supported encryption in transit by using Transport Layer Security (TLS), and will automatically encrypt your incoming and outgoing emails if it can. The important thing is that both sides of an email exchange need to support encryption for it to work; Gmail can't do it alone,” said the company.

For those looking for greater security Google announced the release of End-to-End, an extension to its Chrome browser.

End-to-end encryption offers another layer of security by encrypting data leaving a user’s browser until it is decrypted by the recipient. The service has been available for some time via tools including Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and Gnu Privacy Guard (GnuPG), but such tools have failed to become mainstream as they require a higher level of technological know-how.

Google is hoping its new Chrome service will make end-to-end encryption an easy option for its users. The service is not yet available at the Chrome web store and the company said before releasing it Google was looking for input from users to “make sure that it’s as secure as it needs to be before people start relying on it.”

“Once we feel that the extension is ready for primetime, we’ll make it available in the Chrome web store, and anyone will be able to use it to send and receive end-to-end encrypted emails through their existing web-based email provider,” said Google.

“We recognize that this sort of encryption will probably only be used for very sensitive messages or by those who need added protection. But we hope that the End-to-End extension will make it quicker and easier for people to get that extra layer of security should they need it.”

The move follows an announcement from Yahoo in April the the tech firm ultimately aims to make sure all its traffic will be encrypted by default. “The goal is all traffic to and from Yahoo users is going to be encrypted all the time by default, and invisibly. This is not going to be something you have to think about all the time,” Alex Stamos, Yahoo’s recently appointed chief information security officer, said.
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In addition to this blog, I have authored the premiere book on Netiquette, "Netiquette IQ - A Comprehensive Guide to Improve, Enhance and Add Power to Your Email". You can view my profile, reviews of the book and content excerpts at:

 www.amazon.com/author/paulbabicki

 If you would like to listen to experts in all aspects of Netiquette and communication, try my radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo.  I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ Rider University and  PSG of Mercer County New Jersey.
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