Which Elance features allow me to upload confidential information?

Elance offers a number of features that allow you to upload files to collaborate with other members.

* The most secure mechanism is the shared Files feature. Shared Files require a password for access and provide password protected, encrypted URLs to the uploaded files.  That means that if someone gets ahold of the shared Files URL and tries to access it, they will be challenged to log into Elance. If you have truly sensitive files that you need to exchange, the shared Files is the place to do it.  It also allows up to 50 MB of file uploads.  The potential drawback is one of convenience - it generally takes more clicks to access these files.  The shared Files is only available once an employer has hired a provider and the job has been accepted.

* The next most secure mechanism is the Private Messages. The text of the messages themselves are secure - you need to log in to access the Private Messages text and the list of attachment URLs.  If someone gets ahold of the URL of a message file attachment, however, they will not be forced to log in to access the attachment.  Unlike in the case of the shared Files, these attachment URLs are not password protected or encrypted.  If someone takes that URL and copies it into some public part of the Internet such as a blog, external public message board, their own website, etc., then search engines like Google can subsequently pick it up.

* Finally, there are job descriptions and proposal comments. The job description text, proposal text, and attachments are not password protected. 

NOTE: If a provider is not hired for a job, Elance will delete the uploaded files attached to the Job Descriptions, Proposal Comments, Private Messages and shared Files of the job after 6 months. If  provider is hired for the job, the uploaded files will not be deleted.