Enigmail: Wrapping email in a digital security blanket

In order to use Enigmail, Thunderbird for email and an installation of an OpenPGP compliant key management software package is required, such as GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG), which is an open source version of PGP for Windows or MacPGP for the OS X platform. Enigmail works as an extension within Thunderbird and does a good job of hiding the complexity normally associated with using digital certificates and encryption.

Once Enigmail is configured, email that has been digitally signed by another user can be verified as authentic. In the mail clien

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Enigmail can also automatically encrypt and decrypt messages that have been encrypted using the OpenPGP standard. In transit, the encrypted emails are virtually unbreakable (and hence, unreadable to prying eyes), but upon entering the inbox, the messages can be automatically rendered into clear text. Enigmail handles the complexities of certificate lookups in the background, wrapping a simple-to-understand interface around what is typically a complex set of operations.

Using Enigmail and OpenPGP is a great way to gain email privacy without losing your mind.

-- Scott Sidel is an ISSO with Lockheed Martin

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