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Frequently Asked Questions
- Why do you need PosteCS™?
- Why Canada Post?
- Who should use PosteCS?
- How does PosteCS work?
- PosteCS' special features
- What are the benefits of using PosteCS?
- How is PosteCS different from my enterprise groupware email system?
- What is the price of the PosteCS service?
- How do I sign up for a PosteCS account?
- What should I do if I forget my PosteCS account name or password?
- What is required if I want to send or receive a PosteCS message?
- What prevents anyone who intercepts the email notification from using the unique URL to access the document?
- What kind of documents can I send via PosteCS?
- Who are PosteCS' competitors?
- What is the Electronic Postmark™?
- What is the difference between PosteCS and epost?
- There have been recent reports of hackers successfully accessing private e-mail messages. Will these hackers be able to do the same with PosteCS?
- Who provides the technology and software for the PosteCS service?
- Why do you need PosteCS?
There have been numerous reports of hackers successfully accessing private e-mail messages. It is a known fact that email is not safe or secure for content-sensitive deliveries.
PosteCS was specifically designed to help Canadian businesses and organizations by implementing high-level encrypted e-messaging via the Internet without additional hardware or software requirements. This unique Internet messaging exchange platform (Tumbleweed IME™) can provide for customized applications to be built around your existing work environment. You can communicate privately, centralize storage of files and documents, send files or custom documents to your business partners, clients and suppliers securely via the Internet. All you require is a valid email address and an Internet browser (IE 4.0 or Netscape 3.0 or higher) and PosteCS will take care of the rest.
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- Why Canada Post?
Canada Post and the privacy of information
Canada Post is well regarded as keeping confidential any personal information received from its customers. Information obtained by Canada Post from PosteCS users will be kept confidential and only used for the purpose for which is collected.
Canada Post as the Trusted Third Party
Canada Post has earned a reputation as a "Trusted Third Party" based on the Corporation
- demonstrating rigorous protection of the "mail"
- demonstrating neutrality regarding the content of messages in its charge
- keeping personal addressing information confidential.
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- Who should use PosteCS?
Any business that needs to securely communicate information over the Internet can benefit by using PosteCS.
PosteCS applications include :
- Procurement : bids responses, submissions
- Legal : negotiations-related documents, acquisitions
- Finance and accounting : financial reports, statements, invoice delivery
- Consulting : business plans, presentations, proposals
- Manufacturing : technical specifications, drawings, proprietary information, programming files
- Medical : lab reports, research results
- Human resources : application forms, auto-response acknowledgements
- Education : transcripts, reference documentation, research files
- Government : citizens' private database applications
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- How does PosteCS work?
(Please refer to our glossary for more detail.)
PosteCS works transparently under SSL enabled browsers where sophisticated authentication and encryption takes place. It works in 3 basic steps :
- Sender uploads messages or documents, with choice of security levels, to the PosteCS server via secure https:// link
- PosteCS server sends out an email notification which contains a unique URL (a patented technology)
- Recipient clicks on the unique URL (or cuts & pastes it into their browser) to get to the message and documents stored on the se
cure PosteCS server
Refer to our system requirement details.
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- PosteCS' special features
- Real-time Tracking
Deliveries can be tracked through every step of the process. Real-time tracking shows when documents were sent, when receivers were notified, and when they accessed the documents. Automatic delivery notifications can be generated.
- Document Expiration
Senders set the expiry date determining when the document is automatically deleted from the server.
- Electronic Postmark™ (EPM™)
On a Sender's request, an Electronic Postmark™ (EPM™) will accompany a PosteCS package. It is a Canada Post date-stamped and time-stamped, cryptographically sealed digital object containing an "electronic footprint" of the original package, among other attributes. The Electronic Postmark™ (EPM™) record is then, by way of a Canada Post digital signature, digitally "sealed" to prevent undetected modification of the package.
- Password Protection
Senders should specify use of a password to access the PosteCS message. The correct password would need to be keyed in by the recipient to retrieve the password-protected document.
With PosteCS, there are two password choices to protect access to the document. If the intended recipient is a PosteCS user, the sender can request the use of the recipient's PosteCS account password. Alternatively, a unique password should be communicated to the recipient to protect the document. In this case, the sender communicates the password to the recipient through an alternative means. The use of a password, together with SSL and encryption secure the PosteCS delivery.
- Universal Compatibility
Via PosteCS Desktop any file type (word processing document, multi-media files, application, etc.) can be sent to anyone with an Internet e-mail address and a Web browser. Read-only documents can be generated automatically using integrated portable document technology (PDF & ACROBAT®). In this way, documents can be received regardless of platform, e-mail system, or document type.
- PosteCS Central
PosteCS Central is a web interface that allows PosteCS account holders to send PosteCS deliveries from any Internet connected computing platform. There is no software installation requirement.
- Robust Mail List Management
PosteCS allows the management of large distribution lists from uploaded lists or mail lists merged from existing databases. From PosteCS Desktop there is easy access to all PosteCS mail lists or local e-mail address books.
- Third-Party Billing
PosteCS allows account holders to create billing codes, specify them when sending documents and create invoices against the billing codes to bill third parties for deliveries.
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- What are the benefits of using PosteCS?
PosteCS saves you money
With PosteCS there is no additional investment of hardware, software or technical resources. PosteCS is compatible with your existing email system and provides a ready-to-use secure e-messaging service to send, protect, store and real-time track your Internet e-messages and documents.
PosteCS simplifies your workflow
Customized applications can be built integrating your existing systems to
- facilitate value-added functions, including special web forms, statements, invoices,
- initiate follow up actions based on the real-time tracking
- plus much more.
PosteCS gives you peace of mind
Real-time tracking, the Electronic PostmarkTM, and secure information storage on the PosteCS server contribute to the peace-of-mind PosteCS provides its users.
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- How is PosteCS different from my enterprise groupware email system?
Enterprise groupware email systems, such as Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes, sit inside an enterprise's environment to handle e-messaging deliveries. Used outside the enterprise's environment, it is SMTP-based and insecure as there is no requirement for SSL. Further, messages and documents on the groupware email servers are not all encrypted and can only be accessed by account holders within the same groupware email systems.
On the other hand, PosteCS has no such constraints. It is IME™-based (Integrated Messaging Exchange™). IME™ facilitates the secure transmission of messages and documents outside a groupware enterprise environment. It allows any email account holder to access messages and documents via an SSL enabled web browser. Additional enhancements include real-time tracking and encryption outside enterprise environments. PosteCS provides a secure system-independent platform for enterprise-to-enterprise e-messaging and document / file delivery.
PosteCS' IME™ SMTP notification with HTTPS retrieval method and password is a patented technology. It is the most universally secure alternative to pure SMTP S/MIME from common groupware. PosteCS does not require additional client software.
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- What is the price of the PosteCS service?
Contact us to discover how your business can benefit from PosteCS.
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- How do I sign up for a PosteCS account?
For your free 30-day PosteCS test drive complete the online registration form.
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- What should I do if I forget my PosteCS account name or password?
In the event you forget your PosteCS account name or password simply contact us at postecs@canadapost.ca. Provide your name, address, e-mail and telephone number. Our Customer Service support center will contact you with your account name and temporary Password. Once you login to PosteCS you can change the password.
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- What is required if I want to send or receive a PosteCS message?
As a sender, you need to have a PosteCS account (if you are not currently registered, please complete the online registration form), a regular email account from an Internet Service Provider and an SSL enabled web browser, such as Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher. Once you have a valid PosteCS account, you can access the PosteCS service. It is accessible from the optional PosteCS Desktop client software (download at no additional cost) or the PosteCS Central secure log-on web site.
As a recipient, you do not require a PosteCS account. All that is needed is an Internet e-mail address and access to the web via an SSL enabled web browser. The recipient will receive an e-mail notification in their regular e-mail box that includes a unique URL link for message retrieval. If the recipient has a recent version of a popular browser, certain documents will display directly within the browser.
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- What prevents anyone who intercepts the email notification from using the unique URL to access the document?
To protect access to the message and enclosed documents, senders should specify use of a password to access the URL. The correct password would need to be keyed in by the recipient to retrieve the password-protected document.
With PosteCS, there are two password choices to protect access to the document. If the intended recipient is a PosteCS user, the sender can request the use of the recipient's PosteCS account password. Alternatively, a unique password should be communicated to the recipient to protect the document. In this case, the sender communicates the password to the recipient through an alternative means. The use of a password, together with SSL and encryption secure the PosteCS delivery.
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- What kind of documents can I send via PosteCS?
PosteCS supports any kind of file format including word processing documents, spreadsheets, multimedia files, and executable programs. PosteCS Desktop integrates Adobe Acrobat allowing users to instantly convert files to the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). This format accommodates incompatible software applications between the sender and recipient. (Note : A plug-in is required to view documents in PDF format.)
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- Who are PosteCS' competitors?
A number of start-up companies have entered the secure Internet document delivery market with similar services. Canada Post's PosteCS service is unique among similar offers as it offers Electronic Postmark ™ and protection afforded "mail" by the Canada Post Act. In future, PosteCS will offer a PKI solution, value-added content management tools and custom applications.
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- What is the Electronic Postmark™?
The Electronic Postmark is a PosteCS feature that provides a valuable trusted third-party validation of the time and date that a package was received by the PosteCS server and validation that a package was not changed after its processing by PosteCS. Specifically, the Electronic Postmark record is a Canada Post time-stamped and date-stamped cryptographically sealed digital object that accompanies a PosteCS package to prevent undetected modification of the package. It also contains a hash or "electronic footprint" of the original package and other attributes. The Electronic Postmark record is then digitally "sealed" by the application of a digital signature.
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- What is the difference between PosteCS and epost?
PosteCS is a Business-to-Business application that delivers messages and documents securely to any valid Internet email address in the world. epost is a Business to Consumer or Consumer to Consumer application delivering to other registered epost participants. Both PosteCS and epost represent Canada Post's commitment to moving into partnerships that focus on the secure delivery of electronic mail.
PosteCS, a cooperative undertaking with France's La Poste, enables customers to securely exchange important business documents with any of the over 200 million Internet-enabled receivers around the world. PosteCS uses encryption, SSL links and passwords to secure document delivery. The PosteCS real-time Tracking feature let senders know when a recipient was notified of the delivery and when the recipient accessed the document. The Electronic Postmark™ date and time stamps the package and validates its integrity.
epost is a Web-based service offering a single location for registered Canadian users, consumers and businesses, to send and receive mail, pay bills, access services, find information and interact in an easy to use, private and secure environment. epost deliveries also carry the assurance of the Electronic Postmark. Developed jointly by Canada Post and Cebra Inc., the basic service is free for consumers who register.
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- There have been recent reports of hackers successfully accessing private e-mail messages. Will these hackers be able to do the same with PosteCS?
PosteCS employs a combination of industry standards and proprietary security measures that make it more secure than e-mail. PosteCS recipients receive an e-mail notification to "pickup" a PosteCS package from the secure postal server. The server encryption in combination with password protection and Secure Sockets Layer links make it extremely difficult for an unauthorized user to gain access to a document.
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- Who provides the technology and software for the PosteCS service?
PosteCS is developed based on Tumbleweed Integrated Messaging Exchange™ (IME™), a set of products and services that leverage the Internet and existing e-mail to create a secure, trackable, online communications channel. Tumbleweed IME is built by Tumbleweed Communications Corp in Redwood City, CA. This software was chosen based on a survey of available 'off the shelf' products. The United States Postal Service developed the Electronic Postmark software.
Canada Post is constantly assessing other technological developments that may complement or strengthen PosteCS to make sure that PosteCS remains the world class, best in breed product that our customers expect from us.
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Read some PosteCS testimonials.
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