Time-Bar Your Email
Free plug-in cover for your writings

Has it ever crossed your mind that you may be answerable for what you send in your e-mails? The questioning authority may be your employer, ISP, or even local law-enforcement. So, how do you prevent such a conjuncture?

The solution lies in using e-mails that blank out after a given time. Existing email clients like Outlook can make provisions for your e-mail to be sent within a stipulated time frame. Now a simple plug-in steps in to give you cover.

Disappearing's free (while in Beta) Outlook plug-in can be used. Available for Outlook 97/98/2000, it allows you to send encoded messages with an expiry date. Outlook Express is not supported as yet. This software that allows you to make e-mail policies, is devised by Disappearing, which also provides separate versions for corporations. The free edition is very simple to use.

First you download the Disappearing Email for Microsoft Outlook plug-in (350 kB, free).This is automatically installed and a "Send Disappearing" icon appears on the Outlook toolbar. Messages can be composed using Outlook. By clicking the send disappearing icon you fix the time limit.A128-bit algorithm is used by the plug-in to encode this message. The Disappearing's key server is accessed with a secure link and a unique decryption key is made before sending the message. A drop- down menu should be used to set the time-out limit. The default is 45 days.

This is one simple tool and recipients don't need a plug-in to read your mail. The mail can be read by any mail client that supports HTML. When a recipient opens the mail, the message retrieves the decryption key from Disappearing's key server and displays the decrypted email.

The decryption key is automatically deleted from the key server as soon as the stipulated time limit ends.Once this happens no storage will help you or the reader to decode the message.

No attempt is made by Disappearing to legitimise the recipient's identity. The burden of sending a message to the 'right" recipientis always on the sender.So that as long as an active message exists, anybody with access to the recipient's email can read it.

Disappearing claims that this plug-in provides a solution to the key issue of electronic communications: messages hanging around.

The corporate version has more sophisticated features not available in the free version.The call back facility and tracking of messages cannot be done with a free version. There is no cause for dismay if you don't use Outlook because the company seems to be designing other versions for other clients.Other proposals include free plug-ins for Outlook Express and Eudora.