Safe Payments made via Encrypted Email attached Documents
7/18/2020 - Optimized for Firefox 78.0.2
I created these websites ONLY to provide free information to help other people
This method may NOT work for you.
Someone MAY be able to somehow decrypt/steal your information
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG
How we paid African Safari costs via Credit Card while in the USA
If you need to purchase something via your credit card, in some other
location than where you are, and they want a signed agreement or a
copy of your credit card, this method works very well to send an
encrypted copy that the other person can read and/or print.
You can use this method to send signed forms of any kind, or
that copy of the will that you want to keep secret, or even
that hideous, embarassing picture of your sweet-sixteen party.
How we encrypted and attached documents to our email
We paid most of our safari costs via ENCRYPTING a GIF copy of
a filled out credit card form. In other words, we filled out the
form authorizing a credit card payment, scanned it into the
computer as a GIF file, then used WinZip 9 to Encrypt the GIF.
We then attached the encrypted ZIP file to an email and sent it.
Any common photo format, GIF, JPG or PNG should work. I used GIF
because it does a good job of capturing both graphic and written
data, and every graphics program in the world can handle GIF files.
You can use WinZip 9 (or a later version) to encrypt anything
and have any user of a (modern version of) Windows will be able to
decrypt it withOUT having a copy of WinZip 9.
ZIP files (named *.zip) are compressed files.
You can get free zip programs here, that can be used for this same
technique.
How to send your encrypted data attached to your email
1] If necessary, scan in the document that you need to send as encrypted.
2] Read into Windows PAINT, the free Irfanview, PHOTOSHOP -
ANY photo or graphic editor should work.
3] Convert the scanned image into a very common image format - I suggest
GIF, JPG or PNG.
4] Save the file in a known location, with a known name.
HOW TO ENCRYPT AND COMPRESS YOUR DATA
Steps to Create a WinzZIP 9 portable, encrypted file
There are faster methods to accomplish this, but here is
one method of encrypting data to send to someone:
1] Open WinZip 9
2] NEW
Select a LOCATION and a NAME for your zip file
(let's assume that you name it: "my-data.zip".
3] ACTIONS
ADD (Add all files that you wish to encrypt)
4] ACTIONS
ENCRYPT
Enter password: pick-a-good-password
Re-enter Password: pick-a-good-password
CHECK Mask password (probably the default)
CHECK Zip 2.0 compatible encryption (portable) (the DEFAULT)
CLICK OK
5] ACTIONS
CLOSE ARCHIVE
EXIT the WinZip program
The ZIP portable version of Encryption is a type of AES encryption.
You can now attach the "my-data.zip" file to an email and
send it to any user of a Windows XP / Windows 2003 OR LATER
(this may work for MAC users, but I don't know if it does).
NOTE - Some email systems remove .zip files from emails - this is
now rare, but possible.
If this happens, try renaming your my-data.zip
to just my-data (NO suffix), and attach this file.
Or, I've renamed it to be my-data.pdf, and had this name work,
THE OTHER PERSON WILL HAVE TO RENAME THE FILE TO my-data.zip
before they can decrypt and unzip the data (the file name has to have
the ".zip" suffix on it, before the unzip program will work).
DECRYPTING AND UNCOMPRESSING THE ZIP FILE ATTACHMENT
What to tell the person who receives your encrypted zip file
I am attaching an ENCRYPTED ZIP file, "my-data.zip"
I WILL CALL YOU AND GIVE YOU THE PASSWORD NEEDED to Decrypt the file
(or put it in a second email) - DO NOT send the password
in the same email to which you are attaching the encrypted file.
Please:
A] Save it in a known location (I assume that you have a Windows OS
on your computer?)
B] Double-click the "my-data.zip" file - it will ask
1] Where to put the contents
2] For the Required PASSWORD
IF YOU SENT AN ENCRYPTED GIF OF A SCANNED DOCUMENT:
C] You will end up with a .GIF file
D] Read/Open the GIF file with your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox,...)
E] Print the GIF file - it is the Booking form, agreement or whatever else you sent.
SENDING ENCRYPTED "FAXES" OVER VoIP
Most FAX machines will not work over VoIP (Vonage, Time-Warner
Digital phone, Skype, etc.).
You can, however, scan your document and save it as a .GIF file. Then
Zip and (optionally) Encrypt the GIF file and send it via email.
I would test your encrypted file (try decrypting it) before you actually
send it, just to be sure it works properly II've never seen any problems).
I also list how to get a reputable, free zip program that you could use for
encryption, here:
www.woodsmall.com/windows-tips.htm#FREEZIP
I then emailed the encrypted GIF. In our case, we used Vonage to make a free
phone call and I gave the safari companies the Key needed to decrypt the credit
card form. I used this for many countries in Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe,
England and the USA.
At their end, they only had to double-click on the zip file and supply the
decryption key. This made me feel MUCH better about sending the information
over easily hackable email.
Almost all versions of windows (including XP) can unzip the decrypted zip
file WITHOUT have to have a zip program - Windows does the work itself.
I outline this information at:
www.woodsmall.com/windows-tips.htm#EMAIL
And specifically, how to encrypt/decrypt the email.
http://www.woodsmall.com/email-encryption.htm
Zip 2.0 compatible (portable) encryption is NOT the MOST secure encryption.
This reference, describes the encryption:
AES Encryption Information: Encryption Specification AE-1 and AE-2
What is AES Encryption? - WinZip
Complete Encryption, Compression, RFID, Smart Cards & Fuzzy Logic Information
These are JUST SUGGESTIONS - USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
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NOT responsible for Errors, Omissions, out-of-date Data, or ANYTHING else.