# One-off email encryption service?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-off-email-encryption-service/687223
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 28, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-off-email-encryption-service/687223 "2014-04-28T23:17:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-off-email-encryption-service/687223/1 "2014-04-28T23:17:05Z")
I need to send an encrypted email. Just one. I don’t expect to have to do so very often, if ever, in the future.
I found various encryption programs for sale at around $150, or if I buy Microsoft Outlook ($109), it apparently includes an encryption option. But for just a single email that seems like overkill. Is there some sort of third-party service through which I can send an encrypted email? I don’t mind paying a little bit for the service, but certainly not 3 digits.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-off-email-encryption-service/687223/2 "2014-04-28T23:20:41Z")
How secure does it need to be?
Why not just type your text into a document, and ZIP it with a password, and then attach the archive to your email?
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-off-email-encryption-service/687223/3 "2014-04-28T23:25:18Z")
Hopefully **beowulff** ’s suggestion will meet your needs, but if not, be aware that the pay solutions may require the end user to purchase a copy too for decryption. Or do they offer a free decryption solution for the recipient?
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### Author:  [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-off-email-encryption-service/687223/4 "2014-04-28T23:55:32Z")
GPG is free and secure, but requires that the recipient has PGP or GPG and knows how to use it. Which should be true of any secure solution.
Context might help. If you’re sending an email encrypted conventionally with a password, you need to give the password to the recipient without anyone else finding it. Which means you need a secure way of communicating with them. And if you already have that, why not use it to send your message instead?
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### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-off-email-encryption-service/687223/5 "2014-04-29T00:54:27Z")
Encryption is the easy part. Authentication is difficult.
Who is your intended recipient? How will you communicate your password/secret key to that person?