Great because you're probably not male and over 40 anyway.  I only see gentlemen who can write somewhat properly.

U gots that or duz I gotta eczplain it to ya cuz I GOTTA go now.  (Received a few of these this week as well)

Kiss my ass LOL.

Kate  

The problem with letting her have her "rant" is....

First off she comes out all the time defending the ladies on the board, heaven forbid us guys say ANYTHING bad about the ladies!!! Then she runs to the board to CONSTANTLY bash the guys, according to her we are stupid, morons, idiots, children.... I for one am tired of looking at her posts here mocking the men on this board. Kate, why don't you take a nice long vacation, maybe somewhere along the way you'll be able to pull your head out of your ass!!!

As fascinating as all of that sounds you are making the issue much more complicated than it actually is.  Standard channels of email communication are perfectly fine as long as no incriminating information is requested or exchanged.  Any guy who needs training in common sense belongs right where he is going to wind up in most cases. On a provider's ignore list.

I sooo agree with you.
You probably won't see this post.
Too bad.
I wanted to find out how to use what you suggested without getting screwed by some asshole who claims to know about computers.
Please pm me if you see this.
I may actually have to resort to doing it my self-NO!!!!!
At least I know a cool guy who will help me with this stuff if I could just remember to make time for it.
I don't use those forms on my website and I do not set up appts over email.
It's an unncessary record.

Hi Carnal,

I agree with you generally that plaintext is fine so long as people send nothing incriminating -- which is your general point to start with and with which I generally agree.

However, as the professional in the relationship, it is up to you to make sure your clients (non-professionals) are educated as to what should/shouldn't be sent. By and large, I doubt that your clients are typically experience in communications regarding arguably illegal activities. So it is up to the professional to instruct.

Like you, I like to believe that with terrorists trying to kill us, foreign governments trying to hack the DoD, kiddie porn and more -- law enforcement can find something better to do than keep an eye on your part-time enterprise. However, you can never be sure as prioritization has never been a government strong suit.

As to SSL/PGP/GnuPG -- while there are similarities, there are also big differences.

Standard 128-bit SSL using certificates can be decrypted in real-time. But even sans that ability, it gets automatically decrypted at the server end and can be read there. Most servers are configured with the password built right into the private cert so they can be rebooted non-interactively. Anyone with a warrant (or just a curious sysadmin) can see what is going on right there.

PGP, specifically in the form of GnuPG, has no known back doors. It can use 4096-bit encryption that, sans private key, would take years for even the NSA to bust. Certainly, they wouldn't invest such resources against your sort of bailiwick.

However, it has weaknesses. The two biggest are plaintext versions of a message on either end; and carelessly keeping the private key on the same computer as the data. Theoretically, without the pass phrase, the private key is useless; but some cryptologists tell me this isn't so.

The plaintext versions can be dealt with through secure erasure and strongly encrypted file systems.

Human nature is to go for low-hanging fruit. In most jurisdictions, prostitution is a misdemeanor. Using strongly encrypted files systems, secure erasure and 4096-bit GnuPG; you erect enough barriers that your computer is useless for purposes of resources dedicated to prosecuting such a charge.

So I'm not disagreeing with you, just pointing out that things can be better.

If you REALLY want me to consult with you on this sort of thing; my rates are reasonable. Remember, no matter how much you know, there is always another perspective.  

So they say Brian-4-5"?

Dear C.C.:

For someone who could be considered an overweight tub of lard, I am so tired of your postings complaining and attacking people.  You are arguably selling yourself on the Internet, and then you complain that one in six of the people who contact you is "weird."  I've got news for you darling; if you were being set up on dates by good friends, the percentage would be higher than that.

With regard to indiscretion, I have been biting my tongue during this discussion.  I have been the victim of numerous emails from providers (yes, providers...females...) where everyone's full names and email addresses, with related organizations, have been revealed.  The emails in question represent communications far dopier than anything you write about; the emails usually say something like: "OMG. I am sooooo looking forward to getting together with all you guys.  $250 for the hour.  I will be in Boston all weekend and can't wait to play..." etc. etc. etc.

These fucking idiots are still on TER, still working, and the potential damage they have caused and can cause trumps anyone who happens to ask you a question in a private email.  

Stop venting your rage here.  It's just fucking annoying, especially when it's misplaced.

By the way, C.C., I see you promised not to respond to any more messages on this thread.  We'll see if you are good for your word.

WUWT