Notepad

Step-by-step Windows handling emails for Thunderbird

Written by Lída Hrnčířová on 2020-06-11

cryptoucan

In today's post we will learn how to encrypt, decrypt and sign emails on Windows using Thunderbird email client! If you aren't a fan of instructional videos, don't worry. We've published a step-by-step guide accompanied by pictures of each step once again which you can find in this article.

When you're operating with emails in your everyday life, you're most likely to use these three security features cryptography keys are used for:

  • Encrypting emails - sending encrypted emails using other person's public key that only they can read using their private key

  • Decrypting emails - reading emails that someone encrypted for you using your private key

  • Signing emails - signing email using your private signature key so the receiver knows for sure who sent it

We've already created a video that will show you how to do all those processes that you can watch right here OR you can click the links mentioned bellow that will get you to our step-by-step guides.

Video 1: Handling emails on Windows, Thunderbird

Encrypting and Decrypting

We won't need Cryptoucan™ for encryption as we are using other users' public keys that we've already imported to our Kleopatra key manager. On the other hand, we need to use Cryptoucan™ for decryption as we are using our private key - that's only known to us and that's stored on our device - to pair it with the public key that was used to send the email in the first place.

Click here to get to the instructions for encrypting and decrypting emails

Picture 1: Key selection window for encrypting emails

Signing

When you are signing e-mails, you are signing them with your private signature key. This way no one can fake your identity if they don't have your private key. You will need Cryptoucan™ for this operation.

Click here to get to the instructions for signing and reading signatures

 

Picture 2: Good signature showed in Thunderbird  

And that's all for today's blog post! See you next time - there might be a new instructional video for Ubuntu!