Everyone knows this – IP voice calls can be prone to eavesdroppers. Yup, even the virtual walls have ears. Whether you are using VOIP for business or for personal purposes, I am quite sure that you would rather have your conversations private, right? Though VOIP has tons of positive points on its side, it is a sad fact that it could be more prone to eavesdropping than wired telephones. How so? It is because of a simple thing – VOIP has no wired connection that would require an eavesdropper to tap into the wires, something that might not be that easy to do without being detected. With VOIP, however, all one needs to listen in on another person’s conversation is to intercept the data that is being transmitted over the network. With the proper tools, anyone can capture and analyze the data – in effect, listen to your conversations.

How do you ensure that no one is listening in on your voice calls? It is simple – by using some sort of encryption method. Encrypting your voice calls is a simple matter and will make it almost impossible for other people to snoop on your conversations.

One popular method of encrypting VOIP calls is Zfone. This software is developed by Phil Zimmerman and is free to download. It is perfect for VOIP users who do not have much know how, technologically speaking. All you need to do is to download the program, install it and you’re good to go. One drawback of the Zfone is that in order for your call to be secure, the party you are calling has to have it installed as well.

Another method of encryption is what is dubbed as built-in encryption. It is basically what VOIP clients do. Skype, for example, has built-in encryption – the user does not have to do anything in this regard.

For businesses, Transport Layer Security (TLS) and IP Security (IPSec) seem to be the best bet. These two methods are quite robust and prevent external unauthorized tampering. The level of security they offer makes them very attractive for business owners. To date, TLS seems to be gaining more ground in terms of popularity simply due to the fact that it is more efficient and does not take up as much bandwidth as IPSec does.

There are other ways of keeping your voice calls confidential. So what’s keeping you? Take that step and rest assured that no one is eavesdropping on you.