Encryption is the process of encoding messages or information in such a way that only authorized parties can read it. So encryption doesn’t do anything to prevent anyone from obtaining your digital information, but it makes it so they can’t read it.
Under some circumstances, encryption can be fairly automatic and simple. But there are ways encryption can go wrong, and the more you understand it, the safer you will be against such situations [1].
As more and more of our communication happens through digital medium we expose the information that we are communicating to a wide world of people. If a conversation is recorded and used against you, it can be taken out of context. Information that you want to keep between you and someone else, perhaps for security reasons is now more vulnerable than ever. Encryption is a tool which we can use to help safeguard our data and communication.
This is a common question where the question is often not as simple as "everywhere". Let's face it, the importance of encryption changes based uppon the data that you are sending. However, once set up, many encryption routines can be practically seamless.
So, whether it is email, your webserver, instant messaging, or storing passwords, I will walk you though, step by step on how to secure your data and messages.