Signed emails sent from Mail

foadfoad
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
I am a little new to this concept, however it was something that I was interested in before and now I got a "Signed" email from a friend, so it resparked my interest in it.



How would I send a signed email? Do I have to obtain a specific type of key?



Any help would be awesome!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    edibiaseedibiase Posts: 19member
    I used these instructions to get email signing set up on Panther, and it seems to work well.
  • Reply 2 of 11
    foadfoad Posts: 717member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by edibiase

    I used these instructions to get email signing set up on Panther, and it seems to work well.



    Thanks a lot for the link!
  • Reply 3 of 11
    wjmoorewjmoore Posts: 210member
    I've read those instructions before and I have a feeling they contain the answer to this question but I'll ask anyway because I'm in a lazy mood. How compatible are Mail signed and or encrypted e-mail with other methods out there? For example if I send a signed message to someone using Linux and GNUPG (of whatever its called) will it work as desired?
  • Reply 4 of 11
    keshkesh Posts: 621member
    GPG is a completely different scheme for encryption.



    Mail is using SSL certificates, the same kind as your web browser does, for its signatures. Essentially, you go to a web site and request a personalized certificate, which can then be given to your friends. From then on, you can digitally sign your messages, and anyone with that certificate can confirm it really came from you. (Provided their mail client supports this scheme.)



    I'm not sure which other emailers support this. I think that Outlook does, but I'm not sure.
  • Reply 5 of 11
    mmmpiemmmpie Posts: 628member
    smime and pgp mime are incompatible.



    Mail supports smime out of the box ( now ), and pgp mime with a plugin, so you can have both.



    Receiving mail should be transparent, but sending will mean that you need to know which way to encrypt your message.



    In general, everyone I know uses pgp mime, because it is a free self signed, community trust network.



    Unfortunately, with mail supporting smime, people who otherwise wouldnt have thought about encryption/signing will go that way.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    ttfanttfan Posts: 7member
    It seems I am in trouble.



    I followed the instruction, got a certificate and stored it in my mac at work. Everything went fine. Then I got an email from Thawte like this:



    "Remember, you will need your Thawte ID and password to access

    the Personal Certification System. You also need to be running

    the same browser, on the same machine, logged in as the same

    user, as you were when you made the request."



    on the same machine!



    Does this mean I cannot retreive the certificate to my mac at home? If so, what is the point of having an IMAP account? Now I am puzzled.
  • Reply 7 of 11
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    No, that's just for retrieving the certificate from Thawne.



    Now that you have it (remember exporting it to your desktop?), simply copy it to another machine and use it there.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    ttfanttfan Posts: 7member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    Now that you have it (remember exporting it to your desktop?), simply copy it to another machine and use it there.



    Thanks, Kickara. But I am still confused.



    The menu item "Export" is grayed out in my KeychainAccess. What can I do?
  • Reply 9 of 11
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    You followed the directions at that page to get the Thawne certificate in the first place, right? Well, in the middle of it you exported it from Mozilla. That's the file you need to move to the other machine.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    ttfanttfan Posts: 7member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    You followed the directions at that page to get the Thawne certificate in the first place, right? Well, in the middle of it you exported it from Mozilla. That's the file you need to move to the other machine.



    Thanks, Kickaha!!!



    Now I know what was wrong. I believe I deleted the file. (I love a clean Desktop.) Stupid me.



    I wish Apple made this whole process a little more fool-proof.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    foadfoad Posts: 717member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ttfan

    Thanks, Kickaha!!!



    Now I know what was wrong. I believe I deleted the file. (I love a clean Desktop.) Stupid me.



    I wish Apple made this whole process a little more fool-proof.



    The problem isn't entirely in Apples hands. The process itself is kinda convoluted. Unless there is a more streamlined process for obtaining certificates then it will always be this kind of hassle.
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