Pros & Cons
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- Encrypts email and attachments.
- Easy for both sender and recipient.
- Free Outlook Add-In automates sending encrypted messages and automatically decrypts them when received.
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- Encrypted email allows plain text only, no formatting.
- Limits on number and size of messages sent.
Send. 2.0 Specs
| Free: | Yes |
| OS Compatibility: | Windows 7 |
| OS Compatibility: | Windows Vista |
| OS Compatibility: | Windows XP |
| Tech Support: | |
| Tech Support: | Forum |
| Tech Support: | knowledge base |
| Tech Support: | Twitter. |
| Type: | Business |
| Type: | Enterprise |
| Type: | Personal |
| Type: | Professional |
In days of yore, before official postal services, sending a letter often entailed finding a helpful traveler headed in the right direction. The letter might pass through various hands before eventually arriving at its destination—with its wax seal intact, you hope! Modern email, while faster, isn't entirely different. Every message passes through a number of servers before it reaches you, and all along the way its text is vulnerable to snooping. Send. 2.0 (free) safeguards your sensitive email using high-powered encryption. Snoops just can't break the seal.
No Installation; Just Go!
Getting started is totally simple. The Send Technology home page features a Web form to enter your email address, recipients, subject, attachments, and message text. If you don't already have a free Send account you'll be invited to create one upon entering your email address. The account-creation process requires an activation code that's delivered via email. This prevents malefactors from setting up a Send account in your name.
View All Recipient addresses automatically go into your online Address book. You can add attachments to the message, up to a total size of 10 MB. If desired you can define a signature that's automatically appended to all messages. Messages are plain text only; for fancy formatting you'll need Send. Pro ($5/month direct, 4 stars). Check the box to receive a copy of the message, if you wish, and click the button to send. Done!
You can also import your Gmail or Outlook contacts into the Address book. As you start typing in the recipients area Send will offer a list of matching contacts for easy selection.
In some ways Send resembles VaporStream ($79 direct, 3.5 stars). Both allow online creation of secure email messages, and in both cases those messages vanish. But where Send messages vanish after a week, VaporStream messages vanish immediately after being read. VaporStream is designed to let people communicate without leaving an audit trail, while Send simply aims to transmit messages that can't be intercepted.
The Recipient's View
Your email messages and attachments don't get delivered directly to the recipient's Inbox. In their place comes notification that a secure message is available. The link to view the secure message has the decryption key for your particular message embedded in it. For security, the company doesn't retain that key anywhere; they can't decrypt the stored message.
On the first visit, each recipient will need to set up a free Send account. The process is quick and simple. It doesn't even include the activation code step required when you set up an account manually. Once logged in the recipient can view the message, download any attachments, or send a secure reply. And of course each recipient can use that new free account to send more secure messages.