Question:
Is there a method of encrypting the body of an e-mail form using JavaScript or Java without access to a secure server or a cgi-bin? I want to use a secure form but I do not have access to a secure server or cgi-bin.

Answer:
Although you could write an encryption algorithm in JavaScript and then use it to scramble the content of your form before submitting it, this solution really isn’t as secure as it may initially sound. No matter how strong your encryption scheme is, the JavaScript code that does the actual scrambling must be read by the user’s browser and as a result is always available to anyone who views the HTML source of the Web page with the form. Working backwards to decrypt a message if you have the code that did the original encryption is trivial for even beginner programmers. This means that your message isn’t really secure and defeats the whole purpose of encrypting it in the first place.