Freelance digital home typing

Home_Alone_2

I would like to set myself up as a freelance typist, not working for a typing agency that outsources typing. I already know several people who would be willing to give me work. I wonder if any of you do this sort of work from home. I was considering charging £10 per fifteen minutes of dictation, assuming it takes four times the dictation speed to type up, which is the amount of time it took when I was working.

I have a question though about encryption of files for security. I don't know how that is supposed to be dealt with. I am assuming the person dictating will load the digital files onto his pc, email them to me, and then I type the files and email them back, but what happens with encryption for security. Would their software ensure it is encrypted whilst on its way to me. Once I have the dictation typed, how do I make sure it is encrypted back to them, as all dictation and typing needs to be confidential and secure.

If you know the answer, or can point me to a weblink that can help and advise me, I would be really grateful, and many thanks in advance.

deq123

I work from home doing data entry and if I need to send files securely I use winzip with a password, zip the files, create a password then when you send the files either send a separate email with the password or agree on one over the phone in advance and use the same one each time.

Home_Alone_2

Thanks for that. I will have a look at their website.

Owain_Moneysaver

A password on Winzip is not secure. If you want to encrypt email you need something based on the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy

Most companies though will have no idea that email is insecure and won't want to install encryption software - although there are easy to use add-ons for Outlook and Thunderbird etc.

chocsessential

Home_Alone wrote: »

I have a question though about encryption of files for security. I don't know how that is supposed to be dealt with. I am assuming the person dictating will load the digital files onto his pc, email them to me, and then I type the files and email them back, but what happens with encryption for security. Would their software ensure it is encrypted whilst on its way to me. Once I have the dictation typed, how do I make sure it is encrypted back to them, as all dictation and typing needs to be confidential and secure.

If you know the answer, or can point me to a weblink that can help and advise me, I would be really grateful, and many thanks in advance.

You can install a free encryption program called Axcrypt which will enable you to send your files securely. You put in a password and your client needs to put in the same password to un-encrypt the document. You will of course both need to have Axcrypt installed on your computers. It is very easy to use and I use it a lot. You should also use the Axcrpyt shred and delete function to completely remove old sound files and documents from your computer as simply deleting them in Windows isn't good enough and they don't really go away. Make sure you don't delete them until you've got paid because once shredded there's no going back.

chocsessential

I forgot to say you can send and receive files using Sendmyfile rather than email. You can send and receive large files quickly this way.

Home_Alone_2

Thanks Owain and chocs.
I looked at winzip site and it didn't seem as secure as I want it to be. I will investigate further, as unless sound files coming to me, and typed files going from me are safe, then I would rather not go ahead with this typing work. Many thanks again.

geordie_joe

Home_Alone wrote: »

Thanks Owain and chocs.
I looked at winzip site and it didn't seem as secure as I want it to be. I will investigate further, as unless sound files coming to me, and typed files going from me are safe, then I would rather not go ahead with this typing work. Many thanks again.

Then you'll have to give up as nothing is safe on the internet.

For every person trying to make something more secure there are hundreds of hackers trying to crack that security. And they always win.

chocsessential

You don't need winzip. If you encrypt your files and send them with sendymyfile there's no need to mess about with zipping files. I work for very stringent agencies who insist on their work being encrypted and it works okay for them. I have done some confidential work and never had any problems. Also Axcrypt is only one kind of encryption software; there are loads of others to choose from too.