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Press 'Generate key.' As soon as you press 'Generate key,' the 'Enter passphrase' window will pop up. Okay, now this is important. A brief word about your passphrase. The entire PGP encryption will rest on your passphrase. So, first and foremost. Don't use a passphrase that other people know! Pick something only you will know, and others. Mar 2, 2015 - How to keep your email private with PGP encryption on your Mac. Walk you through creating your own public/private key in GPG Keychain.
. Version: Thunderbird 52.9.1. License: Free and Open Source Software. System Requirements:. Apple Mac OS X.
Microsoft Windows. GNU/Linux What you will get from this guide. The ability to manage multiple email accounts using a single tool. The ability to read and compose messages while disconnected from the Internet. The ability to send and receive encrypted email. The ability to digitally sign your emails and authenticate signed email from others 1. Introduction to Thunderbird Thunderbird is a free and open source, cross-platform email client for sending, receiving and storing email.
An email client is an application that lets you download and manage your messages — from multiple accounts with multiple providers — without a browser. Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG) is free and open source software capable of encrypting, decrypting and digitally signing messages and files. It also generates and manages the public and private keys needed to do so. Enigmail is a Thunderbird add-on that allows you to access the encryption and authentication features provided by GnuPG, which must be installed for Enigmail to work. 1.0 Things you should know about Thunderbird before you start You will need at least one email account to use Thunderbird.
If you want to create a new account to use with Thunderbird, refer to the. Like all email clients, Thunderbird makes a copy of your messages available on your computer.
This includes the emails you send as well as those you receive. As a result, it is particularly important that you implement device encryption (such as ) when you decide to use Thunderbird. Thunderbird cannot protect your device if you open malicious attachments or click on malicious links. Do not open unsolicited attachments and exercise caution when clicking on links that were sent to you by email.
Learn how to guide. 1.1 Other tools like the Thunderbird Thunderbird is available for Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows. Securely managing multiple email accounts is a complex task, and we strongly recommend Thunderbird for this purpose.
However, if you prefer to use an alternative we recommend the following free and open source tools:. is available for GNU Linux and Microsoft Windows.
is available for Mac OS X, GNU Linux and Microsoft Windows. are available for Android. has a beta available for GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows (and should be available for Mac OS X in the future) The security advantages of Thunderbird are significant, particularly when compared to commercial alternatives like Microsoft Outlook. Install and configure Thunderbird 2.1 Install Thunderbird To install Thunderbird, follow the steps below: Step 1. Browse to the Thunderbird download page at Figure 1: The Thunderbird download page Step 2.
Click Free Download to choose a location for the Thunderbird disk image Figure 2: Choosing a location for the disk image Step 3. Make sure DiskImageMounter is selected next to Open with and click OK to download the disk image Figure 3: Downloading the Thunderbird disk image After your browser has downloaded the disk image, Finder will mount it so you can install Thunderbird into your Applications folder Figure 4: Inside the Thunderbird installer disk image Step 4. Within the folder shown in Figure 4, drag the Thunderbird application into the Applications folder as shown below Figure 5: Dragging Thunderbird into the Applications folder Step 5.
Dismount the Thunderbird installer disk image by pressing Command-E while the disk image window is active 2.2 Add an email account to Thunderbird To add an email account to Thunderbird, follow the steps below. Launch Thunderbird Figure 1: First launch of Thunderbird Step 2.
(Optional) Uncheck the Always perform this check when starting Thunderbird box Step 3. Choose whether or not you want to make Thunderbird your default Email client. To set Thunderbird as your default email client, make sure the box next to E-mail is checked and click Set as Default. To keep your current default email client, click Skip Integration Note: If you use Apple Mail (the email client that comes with Mac OS X), you might want to Skip Integration for now If you have not yet added an email account, Thunderbird will display the Would you like a new email address? Screen Figure 2: Thunderbird offering to help you create a new email address Step 4.
Click Skip this and use my existing email to open the Mail Account Setup screen Figure 3: The Mail Account Setup screen Step 5. Type the name, email address and password that correspond to the account you wish to access using Thunderbird Step 6.
Uncheck the box next to Remember my password Figure 4: Adding account information to the Mail Account Setup screen Step 7. Click Continue. Thunderbird will check the configuration of the email service you have entered. Figure 5: Thunderbird after verifying the configuration of an email service You probably want to leave 'IMAP (remote folders)' selected. IMAP stores the master copy of your email folders (including the Inbox, Drafts, Templates, Sent and Trash folders) on the server and makes a local copy on your device.
This allows you to access the same messages from multiple devices while keeping your folders in sync. ( POP, on the other hand, retrieves your messages from the server and stores them on the first device to which they are downloaded. This does not mean they are actually deleted from the server, but it does make it much more difficult to access your email from multiple devices.) Important: Make sure that both the Incoming and Outgoing information shown on the screen above display SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or STARTTLS (Start Transport Layer Security). Either one indicates that your email provider supports basic encryption. Click Done to create your account and enter the main Thunderbird interface. Figure 6: The main Thunderbird interface Note: To add another email account, click File in the menu bar and select New Existing Mail Account.
This will activate Figure 3, above. Then, simply repeat Steps 5 through 8. Each time you launch Thunderbird, you will be asked to enter the passphrase for each account you have added.
Figure 7: The Mail Server Password Required screen Step 9. Type your passphrase Figure 8: Entering a password into the Mail Server Password Required screen Step 10. Click OK to sign in to your account(s) using Thunderbird 3.
Improve Thunderbird's security and usability This section explains how to configure Thunderbird's preferences to help defend your system against attacks that originate in emails. For more information, see. 3.1 Disable HTML email Thunderbird allows you to include colours, fonts, images and other formatting in the emails you write. It does this by sending messages that include HTML — the same technology used in webpages — rather than just basic text. It also has the ability to display HTML messages sent to you by others.
Unfortunately, viewing HTML email can expose you to some of the attacks used to target web browsers. And writing HTML email sometimes prevents GnuPG encryption from working properly. To display HTML emails as plain text, follow the steps below: Step 1. Click to display the Thunderbird Menu Step 2.
Select View Message Body As Plain Text Figure 1: Disabling the display of HTML email To write email in plain text, follow the steps below: Step 1. Click to display the Thunderbird Menu Step 2. Select Options Account Settings Step 3. Select Composition & Addressing under your email address Figure 2: The Composition & Addressing screen with Compose messages in HTML format unchecked. Step 4. Uncheck the Compose messages in HTML box.
Click OK 3.2 Configuring Thunderbird's Security preferences To modify Thunderbird's security preferences, follow the steps below: Step 1. Click to activate the Thunderbird menu bar Step 2. Select Preferences Preferences Step 3. Click the Security tab Figure 1: Thunderbird's security preferences screen Step 4.
Click the Passwords sub-tab Figure 2: The Passwords tab To view or remove email account passphrases stored on your computer, click Saved Passwords Figure 3: The Saved Passwords window To remove all of the passphrases saved by Thunderbird, click Remove All. You can also remove individual passphrases Important: We recommend that you protect your passphrases using a tool designed specifically for that purpose. See for more information. However, if you do intend to allow Thunderbird to remember them for you, it is extremely important that you set a master password so that Thunderbird can encrypt your other passwords.
In fact, even if you do not want Thunderbird to store your email account passphrases, you might still want to set a master password. Doing so will ensure that Thunderbird encrypts any passphrase you might accidentally ask it to save. If you do this, be sure to remember your master password or record it somewhere safe (like in a database). And be aware that Thunderbird will ask you for that master password every time you restart the application. Check the Use a master password box to activate the following screen Figure 4: Change Master Password window Step 6. Type a strong passphrase into both fields and click OK. 3.3 Configuring Thunderbird's privacy preferences Cookies contain information that is sent to your browser by the websites you visit.
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When you return to those sites, you send the corresponding cookies back to them, along with your request for content. Cookies are used for a number of reasons. For example, websites that require you to sign in often use them to remember whether or not you have done so. But cookies can also be used to track your online activities. Thunderbird accepts cookies primarily to support RSS feeds and newsgroups, not for email. We recommend that you disable support for cookies in Thunderbird. If this prevents you from using a feature of Thunderbird that you need, you can always go back and enable it.
You can tell Thunderbird not to accept cookies by following the steps below: Step 1. Click to activate the Thunderbird menu bar Step 2. Select Preferences Preferences Step 3. Click the Privacy tab Figure 1: The Privacy tab Step 4.
Uncheck the following boxes:. Allow remote content in messages. (You can still enable remote content on a per-message basis.). Remember web sites and links I've visited. Accept cookies from sites 4.
Sending and receiving encrypted messages GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG) is free and open source encryption software developed by the GNU Project. It is compliant with the OpenPGP standard and was designed to inter-operate with Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), a commercial equivalent developed by Phil Zimmermann and maintained by Symantec. On a Mac, the GPG Suite bundle provides an easy way to install GnuPG.
Enigmail is a Thunderbird add-on that allows you to access GnuPG's encryption features from within Thunderbird. GnuPG relies on a form of public-key cryptography that requires each user to generate his or her own pair of keys. This key pair can be used to encrypt, decrypt and sign digital content such as email messages. It includes a private key and a public key:. Your private key is extremely sensitive.
Anyone who managed to obtain a copy of this key would be able to read encrypted content that was meant only for you. They could also sign messages so they appeared to have come from you. Your private key is, itself, encrypted to a passphrase that you will choose when generating your key pair. You should choose a strong passphrase and take care not to let anyone gain access to your private key. You will use your private key to decrypt messages sent to you by those who have a copy of your public key. Your public key is meant to be shared with others and can not be used to read an encrypted message or fake a signed one. Once you have a correspondent’s public key, you can begin sending her encrypted messages.
Only she will be able to decrypt and read these messages because only she has access to the private key that matches the public key you are using to encrypt them. Similarly, in order for someone to send you encrypted email, they must obtain a copy of your public key. It is important to verify that the public key you are using to encrypt email actually does belong to the person with whom you are trying to communicate. If you or your correspondent are tricked into encrypting email with the wrong public key, your conversation will not be secure. GnuPG and Enigmail also let you attach digital signatures to your messages.
If you sign a message using your private key, any recipient with a copy of your public key can verify that it was sent by you and that its content was not tampered with. Similarly, if you have a correspondent's public key, you can verify his digital signatures. 4.1 Install GPG Suite and Enigmail This section walks you through the installation of GPGSuite and Enigmail. 4.1.1 Install GPG Suite To install GPG Suite, follow the steps below: Step 1. Browse to the GPG Suite download page at Figure 1: The GPG Suite download page Step 2. Click Download GPG Suite to download the installer disk image Figure 2: Choosing what to do with the GPG Suite installer disk image when it is downloaded Step 3. Make sure DiskImageMounter (default) is selected next to Open with and click OK Figure 3: Downloading the GPG Suite installer disk image After your browser has downloaded the disk image, Finder will mount it so you can install GPG Suite Figure 4: Inside the GPG Suite installer disk image Step 4.
Double-click the Install icon on the left to begin the process of installing GPG Suite. Figure 5: The GPG Suite installer Step 5. Click Continue to choose a location for the installation Figure 5: Accepting the default install location for GPG Suite Step 6. Click Install to install to enter your login passphrase Figure 6: The GPG Suite installer asking for your login passphrase Step 7. Type the passphrase you use to log in to your computer Step 8. Click Install Software to install GPG Suite Figure 7: The installation of GPG Suite When the installer is done, it will launch the GPG Keychain application so that you can generate your GnuPG public and private key pair.
Figure 8: The GPG Suite key generation screen We will return to key generation in Section 4.2. For now, you can quit GPG Keychain by following the steps below. Click Cancel to close the key generation screen Step 10.
To quit GPG Keychain, press Command-Q. Next, you should quit the installer and dismount the installation disk image by following the steps below: Step 11. Switch back to the Install GPG Suite installer application Figure 9: The GPG Suite installer when it is done Step 12. Click Close to quit the installer Step 13. Switch back to Finder Figure 10: Inside the GPG Suite installation volume Step 14.
Dismount the GPG Suite installer disk image by pressing Command-E while the disk image window is active 4.1.2 Install Enigmail To install Enigmail, follow the steps below. Launch Thunderbird and sign in to your account Figure 1: Thunderbird Step 2. Click Figure 2: Opening the Add-ons Manager Step 3. Select Add-ons to open the Add-ons Manager Figure 3: The Thunderbird Add-ons Manager Step 4. Type 'Enigmail' into the search field in the upper, right-hand corner of the Add-ons Manager and press Enter Figure 4: Finding the Enigmail add-on Step 5.
Click Install next to the entry for Enigmail to begin installing the add-on. Figure 5: Installing the Enigmail add-on When Thunderbird is done installing the add-on, it will let you know Figure 6: The Enigmail add-on installed Step 6. Click Restart now to restart Thunderbird and complete the installation of Enigmail When Thunderbird restarts, it will automatically launch the Enigmail Setup wizard Figure 7: The Enigmail Setup wizard 4.2 Generate encryption keys and configure Enigmail This section covers the generation of a GnuPG key pair and the configuration of Enigmail. 4.2.1 Generate encryption keys To generate a GnuPG key pair, follow the steps below. Click and select Enigmail Setup Wizard Figure 1: Launching the Enigmail Setup Wizard Step 2. This will open the GnuPG Setup Wizard Figure 2: The Enigmail Setup Wizard Step 3. Make sure the I prefer a standard configuration (recommended for beginners) option is selected and click Continue You may see a warning about your GnuPG version, as shown below Figure 3: GnuPG version warning If you do, click OK.
Otherwise, simply continue on to the Create Key screen shown in Figure 4, below. Figure 4: Choosing a passphrase for your new GnuPG key pair Step 4. Choose a strong passphrase and type it into the two fields shown on this screen. Figure 5: Choosing a passphrase for your GnuPG key pair Note: This passphrase will be used to encrypt your private key, which is what allows you to sign emails you send and decrypt emails you receive. It should not be shared with anyone. As such, it is important that you choose a strong passphrase and that you do not forget it. You can learn more from the guide.
Click Continue to generate your GnuPG key pair Figure 6: Enigmail generating a new GnuPG key pair When Enigmail has finished generating your GnuPG key pair, it will let you know, and a Generate Revocation Certificate button will appear. Figure 7: Enigmail ready to generate a revocation certificate You should generate a revocation certificate so you can let others know when a particular key is no longer valid.
This may happen if you:. Stop using a keypair. Lose a private key. Forget the passphrase for a private key. Believe a private key has been compromised or shared with others It is particularly important that you generate a revocation certificate if you plan to upload your public key to a keyserver. There is no other way to 'delete' a key once you have uploaded it, and you do not want old or compromised keys sitting around on a keyserver confusing people. Click Create Revocation Certificate to enter your login passphrase Figure 8: Enigmail asking for your login passphrase Step 7.
Type the passphrase you chose when creating your GnuPG key pair Step 8. Click OK to choose a name and location for your revocation certificate Figure 9: Choosing a name and location for your revocation certificate In this example, we will put the revocation certificate in the Documents folder, but you can store it anywhere safe.
Click Save to display Enigmail's warning about the importance of keeping your revocation certificate safe. Figure 10: Revocation certificate warning Step 10. Click OK to return to the Setup Wizard Figure 11: The Enigmail Setup Wizard Step 11. Click Continue to complete the key generation process Figure 12: The Enigmnail Thank you screen Step 12. Click Done to exit the Setup Wizard and return to Thunderbird 4.2.2 Configure Enigmail to work with your email account You must enable Enigmail for each email account, in Thunderbird, through which you want to send and receive GnuPG encrypted email. To do so, follow the steps below.
Click and select Preferences Account Settings Figure 1: Opening Thunderbird's Account Preferences This will open the Account Preferences screen Figure 2: Thunderbird's Account Preferences screen Step 2. Click OpenPGP Security under the account with which you want to send and receive encrypted email Figure 3: Enigmail's OpenPGP settings for an email account in Thunderbird This screen allows you to set various Enigmail preferences related to email encryption. If you generated your GnuPG key pair by following the instructions in the previous section – after adding a single account to Thunderbird – that account should already be configured to work with Enigmail. It should also be linked to the key pair you generated. If it is not, continue with Step 3, below.
If it is, you can skip to Figure 6. Check the box next to Enable OpenPGP support (Enigmail) for this identity Step 4. Click Select Key. to open the Select OpenPGP Key for Encryption window Figure 4: Enigmail's Select OpenPGP Key for Encryption screen Step 5. Select the key pair you want to use for this email account Figure 5: Selecting a key pair for a particular email account in Thunderbird Step 6.
Click Select Key. to link this key pair with this email account and return to the OpenPGP Security settings screen Below, we recommend two optional, non-default settings. Figure 6: Configuring Enigmail for this email account Step 7. Check the Use PGP/MIME by default box With this box checked, Enigmail is better able to encrypt email attachments, including their filenames. Check the sign encrypted messages box With this box checked, Enigmail will digitally sign all encrypted email sent through this account unless you specifically tell it not to. Unencrypted messages will remain unsigned by default. Click OK to return to Thunderbird 4.2.3 Viewing and managing your key properties Once you have generated your GnuPG key pair and configured your email account to work with Enigmail, you can view and manage the properties of your key pair by following the steps below.
Click and select Enigmail Key Management Figure 1: Opening Enigmail's Key Management screen This will activate your Enigmail Key Management screen Figure 2: Enigmail's Key Management screen Step 2. Double-click the name of your key pair to view or edit its properties Figure 3: key pair properties The Key Properties window displays important information about your GnuPG key pair:. Key ID: The key ID shown above for [email protected] is 0xFA4CD1D2.
(This corresponds to the last eight digits of the full key fingerprint below.). Key fingerprint: The key fingerprint for the same key pair is 93A4 EDCD 2C9A B746 F209 AD2A 0EF3 0EA3 FA4C D1D2. Your key fingerprint is not something you need to keep secret.
In fact, it is meant to be shared. Expiration date: This key pair will no longer work after 18 December, 2020. Before others can send you encrypted email, they must have a copy of your public key. You can learn more about sharing keys in. Your key fingerprint is an important part of how others can make sure that the key they have for you is actually yours. We discuss key verification in.
(Optional) Changing the expiration date of a key pair If you need to change the expiration date of your GnuPG key pair, follow the steps below. This is most useful as a way to extend the expiration date, as it approaches, if you need more time to generate a new key pair and inform those with whom you communicate using encrypted email. Step 1: Click Select action. and select Change Expiration Date Figure 4: Changing the expiration date of a GnuPG key pair This will activate the change expiration date screen shown below Figure 5: Changing the expiration date of a GnuPG key pair Note: The number of years shown at the bottom of the screen does not necessarily match the current expiration date. If you click OK without changing anything, you may temporarily reduce the life-span of your key pair. (Optional) Changing the passphrase for a private key If you would like to change the passphrase that protects your private key, follow the steps below.
Click Select action. and select Change Passphrase Figure 6: Entering a private key passphrase Step 2. Type the passphrase for your private key Step 3. Click OK Step 4. Choose a new passphrase, type it into both fields and click OK 4.3 Exchanging public keys Before you can start sending encrypted email messages to one another, you and your correspondents need to exchange public keys. You also need to confirm the validity of any key you receive by confirming that it really belongs to the person you believe sent it. 4.3.1 Sending your public key as an email attachment To send a public key using Enigmail both you and your correspondent will need to perform the following steps: Step 1: Open Thunderbird and click Write to write an email.
Step 2: Select Enigmail Attach Public Key. Step 3: Select the key you would like to send (typically the one associated with the email account you are currently using). Figure 1: Selecting which public key to attach Step 4: Click Send. Your key will not appear as an attachment until just before the email is sent. Figure 2: An attached public key about to be sent Step 5: Type your GnuPG passphrase and press Enter if prompted 4.3.2 Importing a public key attached to an email Both you and your correspondent must follow the steps below to import one another's public keys.
An attached public key should be visible in the lower, left-hand corner of the email in which it was sent: Figure 1: A public key attached to an email Step 1. Hold down Control and click the attachment Figure 2: The context menu for a public key attached to an email Step 2. Select Import OpenPGP Key to import your correspondent's public key Figure 3: Public key successfully imported Step 3. Click OK to close the window telling you that the key(s) were successfully imported. Enigmail's Key Management screen should now show your correspondent's public key: Step 4.
Click to activate the Thunderbird menu Step 5. Select Enigmail Key Management Figure 4: A new public key displayed in Enigmail's Key Management screen 4.4 Validating and signing public keys You should now verify that the key you have imported actually belongs to the person you believe sent it to you. This is a process that you (and your email correspondents) should go through for each public key you receive.
Once you verify the key, you will sign it so that GnuPG knows that it is valid. 4.4.1 Validating someone else's public key To validate your correspondent's public key, contact him using a means of communication that allows you to be absolutely certain that you are talking to the right person.
In-person meetings are best, but voice and video conversations are acceptable if you are confident you can recognise his voice or appearance. This conversation does not have to be confidential, as long as you refrain from discussing sensitive topics. You will be exchanging public keyr fingerprints, which need not be kept secret. Both you and your correspondent should verify the fingerprints of the public keys you have exchanged.
A fingerprint is a unique series of numbers and letters that identifies a GnuPG key pair. You can use the Enigmail Key Management screen to view the fingerprint of the key pairs you have generated and of the public keys you have imported. To view the fingerprint of a particular key pair, follow the steps below. Click to activate the Thunderbird menu Step 2.
Select Enigmail Key Management Step 3: Double-click a key pair to open the Enigmail Key Properties window. Figure 1: Enigmail's Key Properties screen In the Key Properties window, you will be able to see the fingerprint of the selected key pair. For example, the fingerprint of [email protected] is 93A4 EDCD 2C9A B746 F209 AD2A 0EF3 0EA3 FA4C D1D2 Your correspondent should carry out these steps as well. So, to verify fingerprints:. Read the fingerprint of your keypair to your correspondent. Have him verify that the fingerprint he has for your public key matches what you just told him.
Have your correspondent read you the fingerprint for his keypair. Verify that the fingerprint you have for his public key matches what he just told you If the fingerprints don't match, exchange public keys again and repeat the process. Note: Because key fingerprints are not themselves sensitive, you can easily write down the fingerprint that your correspondent reads off to you. Then, when you have more time, You can verify that it matches the fingerprint you have for his public key using Enigmail's Key Management screen. (This is also why some people print their GnuPG fingerprints on their business cards.) 4.4.2 Signing someone else's valid public key Once you have verified a correspondent's key, you should sign it.
This will tell Enigmail to remember that you consider this key valid. Important: If you sign some else's public key, then make your signed copy of their key available publicly, it can easily expose the fact that you exchange sensitive information with that person.
To prevent this from happening by accident, always check the Local signature box when signing a correspondent's public key. You can sign a validated public key by following the steps below. Click to activate the Thunderbird menu Step 2.
Select Enigmail Key Management Step 3. Hold down Control and click the public key you want to sign. Figure 1: Signing someone else's public key Step 4. Select Sign Key Figure 2: Sign keys locally to avoid exposing your connection to their owners Step 5. Make sure your key pair is selected next to Key for signing Step 6.
Click I have done very careful checking Note: Other options (such as I have not checked at all) may not allow you to send encrypted message to the owner of this key. And, due to a bug in Enigmail, it may be difficult to change this setting later. Accordingly, we recommend that you always select I have done very careful checking when signing a correspondent's public key.
Check the Local signature (cannot be exported) box Important: Unless you are very confident with GnuPG – and know for a fact that the owner of this public key wants your signature of his key to be public – you should check this box. Click OK Figure 3: Entering the passphrase for your private key to sign someone else's public key Step 9. Type the passphrase for your private key when asked Step 10. Click OK to sign this public key. This will tell Enigmail that you have verified the identity of its owner, which will allow you to send him encrypted email.
4.5 Encrypting and decrypting email messages GnuPG only protects the content of email and attachments you encrypt. The following information is never encrypted:.
The Subject line. The sender's email address. Recipients' email addresses. Any real names that might associated with senders and recipients. Katerina, for example.) Furthermore, if you configure Enigmail to use Inline PGP instead of PGP/MIME, the filenames of attachments you send will remain unencrypted. So choose your subject lines carefully, consider creating a GnuPG key for at least one email account that does not include your real name and always use PGP/MIME. Finally, when you send encrypted email, rest assured that a copy — encrypted to your public key — will be placed in your Sent mail folder.
4.5.1 Sending encrypted email Once you and your correspondent have successfully imported, validated and signed one another's public keys, you can begin exchanging encrypted messages. You can encrypt the content of your email messages by following the steps below: Step 1. In Thunderbird, click Write and compose an email to a recipient for whom you have a signed public key Figure 1: Thunderbird's Compose Window Step 2.
Click Enigmail:, in the upper, left-hand corner of the compose window, just beneath the Send button. Figure 2: Enabling encryption and signing Step 3. Check the Encrypt Message box Step 4. Check the Sign Message box Step 5.
Click OK to return the compose window Once you have entered a To: address for which you have a verified public key, the following message should appear in the upper, right-hand corner of the window: Figure 3: Enigmail letting you know that it is ready to encrypt and sign a message Step 6. Click Send Step 7. Type the passphrase for your private key Step 8. Click OK to send your (encrypted and signed) message.
4.5.2 Decrypting an email from someone else When you click on an encrypted message, Enigmail will prompt you for the passphrase to your private key so it can decrypt the message. Type your passphrase and click Unlock. Figure 1: A decrypted message with a verified signature Enigmail will display some information at the top of the message. In the figure above, for example, ' Decrypted message; Good signature from mansour' tells you that:.
The message was encrypted using your public key (which can be done by anyone). You successfully decrypted it.
It was signed by someone with the private key that corresponds to the [email protected] public key that you have imported. You have signed that [email protected] public key, hopefully after verifying that it belongs to the real Mansour. FAQ Q: What happens if I just install Enigmail and not GnuPG? A: That's simple, really. Enigmail just won't work. After all, it's the GnuPG software that provides the encryption engine that Enigmail uses.
Q: How many email accounts can I set up in Thunderbird? A: As many as you like! Thunderbird is an email manager and can easily handle 20 or more email accounts! Q: My friend has a Gmail account.
Should I convince him to install Thunderbird, Enigmail and GnuPG? A: That would be ideal. Just make sure he configures all of his security settings in exactly the same way as you did.
Then the two of you will have an extremely effective way of communicating in privacy and safety! Q: Remind me one more time, which parts of an email message does Enigmail encrypt? A: Enigmail only encrypts the content of messages. Subject lines will not be encrypted, nor will sender and recipient email addresses (or the names associated with those addresses). So, choose your subject lines carefully and consider creating a GnuPG key for at least one email account that does not include your real name. Q: I still don't understand the purpose of digitally signing my messages.
A: A digital signature proves that you're the real sender of a particular message and that the message hasn't been tampered with on its way to your intended recipient. Think of it as the electronic equivalent of the wax seal on an envelope, which contains a very important letter.
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