<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <metacharset="utf-8"http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <title>Email Self-Defense - a guide to fighting surveillance with GnuPG encryption</title> <meta name="keywords" content="GnuPG, GPG, openpgp, surveillance, privacy, email, Enigmail" /> <meta name="description" content="Email surveillance violates our fundamental rights and makes free speech risky. This guide will teach you email self-defense in 30 minutes with GnuPG." /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/css/main.css" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/favicon.ico" /> </head> <body> <!--<nav class="nav"> <div> <ul class="lang"> <li class="help"><a href="http://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide">Translate this guide!</a></li> </ul> </div> </nav>Fundraiser banner --> <iframe id="topbanner" src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/banners/2015fundraiser/2015-fundraiser-banner-no-js.html" width="100%" height="180px" frameborder="0"></iframe> <!-- End fundraiser banner <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ GnuPG Header and introduction text ~~~~~~~~~ --> <header class="row" id="header"><div> <h1>Email Self-Defense</h1> <!-- Language list for browsers that do not have JS enabled --> <ul id="languages" class="os"> <li><a class="current"href="/en">english</a></li>href="/en">english - v4.0</a></li> <li><ahref="/es">español</a></li>href="/es">español - v3.0</a></li> <li><ahref="/fr">français</a></li>href="/fr">français - v3.0</a></li> <li><ahref="/de">deutsch</a></li>href="/de">deutsch - v3.0</a></li> <li><ahref="/it">italiano</a></li>href="/it">italiano - v3.0</a></li> <li><a href="/pt-br">português doBrasil</a></li>Brasil - v3.0</a></li> <li><ahref="/tr">türkçe</a></li>href="/tr">türkçe - v3.0</a></li> <li><ahref="/ro">română</a></li>href="/ro">română - v3.0</a></li> <li><ahref="/ru">русский</a></li>href="/ru">русский - v3.0</a></li> <!--<li><a href="/ml">മലയാളം</a></li>--> <!--<li><a href="/ko">한국어</a></li>--> <li><ahref="/ja">日本語</a></li>href="/ja">日本語 - v3.0</a></li> <li><ahref="/el">ελληνικά</a></li>href="/el">ελληνικά - v3.0</a></li> <!--<li><a href="/ar">العربية</a></li>--> <li><a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Translation_Guide"><strong><span style="color: #2F5FAA;">Translate!</span></strong></a></li> </ul> <ul id="menu" class="os"> <li class="spacer"> <a href="index.html">GNU/Linux</a> </li> <li> <a href="mac.html" class="current">Mac OS</a> </li> <li> <a href="windows.html">Windows</a> </li> <li class="spacer"><a href="workshops.html">Teach your friends</a></li> <li class="spacer"> <a href="https://fsf.org/share?u=https://u.fsf.org/zb&t=Email encryption for everyone via %40fsf"> Share <img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/gnu-social.png" class="share-logo" alt="[GNU Social]"> <img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/pump.io.png" class="share-logo" alt="[Pump.io]"> <img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/reddit-alien.png" class="share-logo" alt="[Reddit]"> <img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/hacker-news.png" class="share-logo" alt="[Hacker News]"> </a> </li> </ul> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FSF Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="fsf-intro"><h3><a href="http://u.fsf.org/ys"><img<h3> <a href="http://u.fsf.org/ys"> <img alt="Free Software Foundation" src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/fsf-logo.png"/></a></h3> <span style="font-size:125%"> <p>We/> </a> </h3> <div class="fsf-emphasis"> <p> We fight for computer users' rights, and promote the development of free (as in freedom) software. Resisting bulk surveillance is very important tous.</p> <p><strong>We wantus. </p> <p> <strong> Please donate totranslate this guide into more languages,support Email Self-Defense. We need to keep improving it andmake a versionmaking other materials like, forencryption on mobile devices. Please donate, and helpthe benefit of people around the worldtaketaking the first step towards protecting theirprivacy with free software.</strong></p> </span>privacy. </strong> </p> </div> <p><a href="https://crm.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=14&pk_campaign=email_self_defense&pk_kwd=guide_donate"><img alt="Donate" src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/donate.png" /></a> </p> </div><!-- End #fsf-intro --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Guide Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="intro"> <p> <a id="infographic" href="infographic.html"><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/infographic-button.png" alt="View & share our infographic →"/></a> Bulk/></a>Bulk surveillance violates our fundamental rights and makes free speech risky. This guide will teach you a basic surveillance self-defense skill: email encryption. Once you've finished, you'll be able to send and receive emails that arecodedscrambed to make sure a surveillance agent or thief intercepting your email can't readit.them. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection, an email account, and abouthalf an hour.</p>forty minutes.</p> <p>Even if you have nothing to hide, using encryption helps protect the privacy of people you communicate with, and makes life difficult for bulk surveillance systems. If you do have something important to hide, you're in good company; these are the same tools thatEdward Snowden usedwhistleblowers use toshare his famous secrets about the NSA.</p>protect their identities while shining light on human rights abuses, corruption and other crimes.</p> <p>In addition to using encryption, standing up to surveillance requires fighting politically for a <a href="http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">reduction in the amount of data collected on us</a>, but the essential first step is to protect yourself and make surveillance of your communication as difficult as possible.Let's get started!</p>This guide helps you do that. It is designed for beginners, but if you already know the basics of GnuPG or are an experienced free software user, you'll enjoy the advanced tips and the <a href="workshops.html">guide to teaching your friends</a>.</p> </div><!-- End .intro --> </div></header><!-- End #header --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 1: Get the pieces ~~~~~~~~~ --> <section class="row" id="section1"><div> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="section-intro"> <h2><em>#1</em> Get the pieces</h2> <p class="notes">This guide relies on software which is freely licensed; it's completely transparent and anyone can copy it or make their own version. This makes it safer from surveillance than proprietary software (like Mac OS). To defend your freedom as well as protect yourself from surveillance, we recommend you switch to a free software operating system like GNU/Linux. Learn more about free software at <a href="https://u.fsf.org/ys">fsf.org</a>.</p> <p>To get started, you'll needathe IceDove desktop email program installed on your computer.This guide works with free software versions ofFor your system, IceDove may be known by theThunderbird email program, and with Thunderbird itself.alternate name "Thunderbird." Email programs are another way to access the same email accounts you can access in a browser (like Gmail), but provide extra features.</p> <p>If you already have an email program, you can skip to <a href="#step-1b">Step 1.b</a>.</p> </div><!-- End .section-intro --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-1a" class="step"> <div class="sidebar"> <p><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step1a-install-wizard.png" alt="Step 1.A: Install Wizard" /></p> </div><!-- /.sidebar --> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 1.a</em> Setup your email program with your email account</h3> <p>Open your email program and follow the wizard (step-by-step walkthrough) that sets it up with your email account.</p> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="troubleshooting"> <h4>Troubleshooting</h4> <dl> <dt>The wizard doesn't launch</dt> <dd>You can launch the wizard yourself, but the menu option for doing so is named differently in each email programs. The button to launch it will be in the program's main menu, under "New" or something similar, titled something like "Add account" or "New/Existing email account."</dd> <dt>The wizard can't find my account or isn't downloading my mail</dt> <dd>Before searching the Web, we recommend you start by asking other people who use your email system, to figure out the correct settings.</dd> <dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt> <dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback page</a>.</dd> </dl> </div><!-- /.troubleshooting --> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step1-a .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-1b" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 1.b</em> Get GnuPG by downloading GPGTools</h3> <p>GPGTools is a software package that includes GnuPG. <ahref="https://releases.gpgtools.org/GPG%20Suite%20-%202013.10.22.dmg">Download</a>href="https://gpgtools.org/#gpgsuite">Download</a> and install it, choosing default options whenever asked. After it's installed, you can close any windows that it creates.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step1-b .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-1c" class="step"> <div class="sidebar"> <ul class="images"> <li><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step1b-01-tools-addons.png" alt="Step 1.C: Tools -> Add-ons" /></li> <li><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step1b-02-search.png" alt="Step 1.C: Search Add-ons" /></li> <li><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step1b-03-install.png" alt="Step 1.C: Install Add-ons" /></li> </ul> </div><!-- /.sidebar --> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 1.c</em> Install the Enigmail plugin for your email program</h3> <p>In your email program's menu, select Add-ons (it may be in the Tools section). Make sure Extensions is selected on the left. Do you see Enigmail? if so, skip this step.</p> <p>If not, search "Enigmail" with the search bar in the upper right. You can take it from here. Restart your email program when you're done.</p> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="troubleshooting"> <h4>Troubleshooting</h4> <dl> <dt>I can't find the menu.</dt> <dd>In many new email programs, the main menu is represented by an image of three stacked horizontal bars.</dd> <dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt> <dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback page</a>.</dd> </dl> </div><!-- /.troubleshooting --> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-1c .step --> </div></section><!-- End #section1 --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 2: Make your keys ~~~~~~~~~ --> <section class="row" id="section2"><div> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="section-intro"> <h2><em>#2</em> Make your keys</h2> <p>To use the GnuPG system, you'll need a public key and a private key (known together as a keypair). Each is a long string of randomly generated numbers and letters that are unique to you. Your public and private keys are linked together by a special mathematical function.</p> <p>Your public key isn't like a physical key, because it's stored in the open in an online directory called a keyserver. People download it and use it, along with GnuPG, to encrypt emails they send to you. You can think of the keyserver asphonebook, wherea phonebook; people who want to send youanencrypted email can look up your public key.</p> <p>Your private key is more like a physical key, because you keep it to yourself (on your computer). You use GnuPG and your private key together todecodedescramble encrypted emails other people send toyou.</p>you. <span style="font-weight: bold;">You should never share you private key with anyone, under any circumstances.</span></p> <p>In addition to encryption and decryption, you can also use these keys to sign messages and check the authenticity of other people's signatures. We'll discuss this more in the next section.</p> </div><!-- End .section-intro --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-2a" class="step"> <div class="sidebar"> <p><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step2a-01-make-keypair.png" alt="Step 2.A: Make a Keypair" /></p> </div><!-- /.sidebar --> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 2.a</em> Make a keypair</h3> <p>The Enigmail Setup wizard may start automatically. If it doesn't, select Enigmail → Setup Wizard from your email program's menu. You don't need to read the text in the window that pops up unless you'd like to, but it's good to read the text on the later screens of the wizard. Click Next with the default options selected, except in theseinstances:</p>instances, which are listed in the order they appear:</p> <ul> <li>On the screen titled "Encryption," select "Encrypt all of my messages by default, because privacy is critical to me."</li> <li>On the screen titled "Signing," select "Don't sign my messages by default."</li> <li>On the screen titled "Key Selection," select "I want to create a new key pair for signing andencryptionencrypting my email."</li> <li>On the screen titled "Create Key," pick a strong password!YourYou can do it manually, or you can use the Diceware method. Doing it manually is faster but not as secure. Using Diceware takes longer and requires dice, but creates a passwordshould bethat is much harder for attackers figure out. To use it, read the section "Make a secure passphrase with Diceware" in <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/03/26/passphrases-can-memorize-attackers-cant-guess/">this article</a> by Micah Lee.</p> </a> </ul> <p>If you'd like to pick a password manually, come up with something you can remember which is at least12twelve characters long, andincludeincludes at least one lower case and upper case letter and at least one number or punctuation symbol. Never pick a password you've used elsewhere. Don'tforget the password, or all this work will be wasted!</li> </ul>use any recognizable patterns, such as birthdays, telephone numbers, pets' names, song lyrics, quotes from books, and so on.</p> <p class="notes">The program will take a little while to finish the next step, the "Key Creation" screen. While you wait, do something else with your computer, like watching a movie or browsing the Web. The more you use the computer at this point, the faster the key creation will go.</p><p>When<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">When the "Key Generation Completed" screen pops up, select Generate Certificate and choose to save it in a safe place on your computer (we recommend making a folder called "Revocation Certificate" in your home folder and keeping it there).You'll learn moreThis step is essential for your email self-defense, as you'll learn more aboutthe revocation certificatein <a href="#section5">Section5</a>.</p>5</a>.</span></p> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="troubleshooting"> <h4>Troubleshooting</h4> <dl> <dt>I can't find the Enigmail menu.</dt> <dd>In many new email programs, the main menu is represented by an image of three stacked horizontal bars. Enigmail may be inside a section called Tools.</dd> <dt>My email looks weird</dt> <dd>Enigmail doesn't tend to play nice with HTML, which is used to format emails, so it may disable your HTML formatting automatically. To send an HTML-formatted email without encryption or a signature, hold down the Shift key when you select compose. You can then write an email as if Enigmail wasn't there.</dd> <dt>More resources</dt> <dd>If you're having trouble with our instructions or just want to learn more, check out <a href="https://enigmail.wiki/Key_Management#Generating_your_own_key_pair">Enigmail's wiki instructions for key generation</a>.</dd> <dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt> <dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback page</a>.</dd> </dl> </div><!-- /.troubleshooting --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="troubleshooting"> <h4>Advanced</h4> <dl> <dt>Command line key generation</dt> <dd>If you prefer using the command line for a higher degree of control, you can follow the documentation from <a href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/c14.html#AEN25">The GNU Privacy Handbook</a>. Make sure you stick with "RSA and RSA" (the default), because it's newer and more secure than the algorithms the documentation recommends. Also make sure your key is at least 2048 bits, or 4096 if you want to be extra secure.</dd> <dt>Advanced key pairs</dt> <dd>When GnuPG creates a new keypair, it compartmentalizes the encryption function from the signing function through <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/Subkeys">subkeys</a>. If you use subkeys carefully, you can keep your GnuPG identity much more secure and recover from a compromised key much more quickly. <a href="https://alexcabal.com/creating-the-perfect-gpg-keypair/">Alex Cabal</a> and <a href="http://keyring.debian.org/creating-key.html">the Debian wiki</a> provide good guides for setting up a secure subkey configuration.</dd> </dl> </div><!-- /.troubleshooting --> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-2a .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-2b" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 2.b</em> Upload your public key to a keyserver</h3> <p>In your email program's menu, select Enigmail → Key Management.</p> <p>Right click on your key and select Upload Public Keys to Keyserver. Use the default keyserver in the popup.</p> <p class="notes">Now someone who wants to send you an encrypted message can download your public key from the Internet. There are multiple keyservers that you can select from the menu when you upload, but they are all copies of each other, so it doesn't matter which one you use. However, it sometimes takes a few hours for them to match each other when a new key is uploaded.</p> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="troubleshooting"> <h4>Troubleshooting</h4> <dl> <dt>The progress bar neverfinishes.</dt>finishes</dt> <dd>Close the upload popup, make sure you are connected to the Internet, and try again. If that doesn't work, try again, selecting a different keyserver.</dd> <dt>My key doesnt appear in the list</dt> <dd>Try checking "Display All Keys by Default."</dd> <dt>More documentation</dt> <dd>If you're having trouble with our instructions or just want to learn more, check out <a href="https://www.enigmail.net/documentation/quickstart-ch2.php#id2533620">Enigmail's documentation</a>.</dd> <dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt> <dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback page</a>.</dd> </dl> </div><!-- /.troubleshooting --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="troubleshooting"> <h4>Advanced</h4> <dl> <dt>Uploading a key from the command line</dt> <dd>You can also upload your keys to a keyserver through the <a href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x457.html">command line</a>. <a href="https://sks-keyservers.net/overview-of-pools.php">The sks Web site</a> maintains a list of highly interconnected keyservers. You can also <a href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x56.html#AEN64">directly export your key</a> as a file on your computer.</dd> </dl> </div><!-- /.troubleshooting --> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-2b .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="terminology" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3>GnuPG, OpenPGP, what?</h3> <p>In general, the terms GnuPG, GPG, GNU Privacy Guard, OpenPGP and PGP are used interchangeably. Technically, OpenPGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is the encryption standard, and GNU Privacy Guard (often shortened to GPG or GnuPG) is the program that implements the standard. Enigmail is a plug-in program for your email program that provides an interface for GnuPG.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #terminology.step--> </div></section><!-- End #section2 --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 3: Try it out ~~~~~~~~~ --> <section class="row" id="section3"><div> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="section-intro"> <h2><em>#3</em> Try it out!</h2> <p>Now you'll try a test correspondence with a computer program named Edward,whichwho knows how to use encryption. Except where noted, these are the same steps you'd follow when corresponding with a real, live person.</p> <!-- <p>NOTE: Edward is currently having some technical difficulties, so he may take a long time to respond, or not respond at all. We're sorry about this and we're working hard to fix it. Your key will still work even without testing with Edward.</p> --> </div><!-- End .section-intro --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-3a" class="step"> <div class="sidebar"> <p><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/section3-try-it-out.png" alt="Try it out." /></p> </div><!-- /.sidebar --> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 3.a</em> Send Edward your public key</h3> <p>This is a special step that you won't have to do when corresponding with real people. In your email program's menu, go to Enigmail → Key Management. You should see your key in the list that pops up. Right click on your key and select Send Public Keys by Email. This will create a new draft message, as if you had just hit the Write button.</p> <p>Address the message toedward-en@fsf.org.<a href="mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org</a>. Put at least one word (whatever you want) in the subject and body of the email. Don't send yet.</p><p>There should be an<p>The lock iconof a yellow keyin thebottom right of the composition window. This means thattop left should be yellow, meaning encryption ison, however, weturned on. We want this first special message toEdward tobeunencrypted. Clickunencrypted, so click thekeyicon once to turnencryptionit off. Thekeylock should become grey, with a blue dot on it (to alert you that the setting has been changed from the default). Once encryption is off, hit Send.</p> <p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a href="#section5">Use it Well</a> section of this guide. Once he's responded, head to the next step. From here on, you'll be doing just the same thing as when corresponding with a real person.</p> <p>When you open Edward's reply,EnigmailGnuPG may prompt you for your password before using your private key to decrypt it.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-3a .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-3b" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 3.b</em> Send a test encrypted email</h3> <p>Write a new email in your email program, addressed toedward-en@fsf.org.<a href="mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org</a>. Make the subject "Encryption test" or something similar and write something in the body.</p><p>They key<p>The lock icon in thebottom righttop left of the window should be yellow, meaning encryption is on. This will be your default from now on.</p> <p class="notes">Next to thekey,lock, you'll notice an icon of a pencil.Clicking this tells Enigmail to add a special, unique signature to your message, generated using your private key. This is a separate feature from encryption, and you don't haveWe'll get touse it forthisguide.</p>in a moment.</p> <p>Click Send. Enigmail will pop up a window that says "Recipients not valid, not trusted or not found."</p> <p>To encrypt an email to Edward, you need his public key, so now you'll have Enigmail download it from a keyserver. Click Download Missing Keys and use the default in the pop-up that asks you to choose a keyserver. Once it finds keys, check the first one (Key ID starting with C), then select ok. Select ok in the next pop-up.</p> <p>Now you are back at the "Recipients not valid, not trusted or not found" screen. Check the box in front of Edward's key and click Send.</p> <p class="notes">Since you encrypted this email with Edward's public key, Edward's private key is required to decrypt it. Edward is the only one with his private key, so no one except him— not even you —can decrypt it.</p> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="troubleshooting"> <h4>Troubleshooting</h4> <dl> <dt>Enigmail can't find Edward's key</dt> <dd>Close the pop-ups that have appeared since you clicked Send. Make sure you are connected to the Internet and try again. If that doesn't work, repeat the process, choosing a different keyserver when it asks you to pick one.</dd> <dt>Unscrambled messages in the Sent folder</dt> <dd>Even though you can't decrypt messages encrypted to someone else's key, your email program will automatically save a copy encrypted to your public key, which you'll be able to view from the Sent folder like a normal email. This is normal, and it doesn't mean that your email was not sent encrypted.</dd> <dt>More resources</dt> <dd>If you're still having trouble with our instructions or just want to learn more, check out <a href="https://enigmail.wiki/Signature_and_Encryption#Encrypting_a_message">Enigmail's wiki</a>.</dd> <dt class="feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?</dt> <dd class="feedback">Please let us know on the <a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback page</a>.</dd> </dl> </div><!-- /.troubleshooting --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="troubleshooting"> <h4>Advanced</h4> <dl> <dt>Encrypt messages from the command line</dt> <dd>You can also encrypt and decrypt messages and files from the <a href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x110.html">command line</a>, if that's your preference. The option --armor makes the encrypted output appear in the regular character set.</dd> </dl> </div><!-- /.troubleshooting --> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-3b .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-headers_unencrypted" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Important:</em> Security tips</h3> <p>Even if youencryptedencrypt your email, the subject line is not encrypted, so don't put private information there. The sending and receiving addresses aren't encrypted either, sothey could be read bya surveillancesystem.system can still figure out who you're communicating with. Also, surveillance agents will know that you're using GnuPG, even if they can't figure out what you're saying. When you send attachments, Enigmail will give youan option of whether you wantthe choice to encryptthem.</p>them or not, independent of the actual email.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-headers_unencrypted .step--> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-3c" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 3.c</em> Receive a response</h3> <p>When Edward receives your email, he will use his private key to decrypt it, then use your public key (which you sent him in <a href="#step-3a">Step 3.A</a>) to encrypt his reply to you.</p> <p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a href="#section5">Use it Well</a> section of this guide.</p> <p>When you receive Edward's email and open it, Enigmail will automatically detect that it is encrypted with your public key, and then it will use your private key to decrypt it.</p> <p>Notice the bar that Enigmail shows you above the message, with information about the status of Edward's key.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-3c .step --><!-- STEP 3D IS COMMENTED OUT UNTIL WE FIND A WAY TO VALIDATE SIGNATURES<div id="step-3d" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 3.d</em> Send a test signedemail to a friend</h3> <p>Write a new email in your email program, addressed toemail</h3> <p>GnuPG includes afriend. Ifway for youwant, tell them about this guide!</p> <p>Before sending the email, click the icon of the pencil in the bottom right of the composition window (it should turn yellow). This tells Enigmailto signthe email with you private key.</p> <p>After you click send, Enigmail will askmessages and files, verifying that they came from youfor your password. Itand that they weren't tampered with along the way. These signatures are stronger than their pen-and-paper cousins -- they're impossible to forge, because they're impossible to create without your private key (another reason to keep your private key safe).</p> <p>You can sign messages to anyone, so it's a great way to make people aware that you use GnuPG and that they can communicate with you securely. If they don't have GnuPG, they will be able to read your message and see your signature. If they dothishave GnuPG, they'll also be able to verify that your signature is authentic.</p> <p>To sign an email to Edward, compose anytimemessage to him and click the pencil icon next to the lock icon so that it turns gold. If you sign a message, GnuPG may ask you for your password before it sends the message, because it needs to unlock your private key for signing.</p> <p>With the lock and pencil icons, you can choose whether each message will be encrypted, signed, both, or neither.</p> </div> </div> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-3e" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 3.e</em> Receive a response</h3> <p>When Edward receives your email, he will use your publickey.</p> </div> </div>--> </div></section><!--key (which you sent him in <a href="#step-3a">Step 3.A</a>) to verify that your signature is authentic and the message you sent has not been tampered with.</p> <p class="notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the <a href="#section5">Use it Well</a> section of this guide.</p> <p>Edward's reply will arrive encrypted, because he prefers to use encryption whenever possible. If everything goes according to plan, it should say "Your signature was verified." If your test signed email was also encrypted, he will mention that first.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End#section3#step-3c .step --> </div></section> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 4: Learn the Web of Trust ~~~~~~~~~ --> <section class="row" id="section4"><div> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="section-intro"> <h2><em>#4</em> Learn the Web of Trust</h2> <p>Email encryption is a powerful technology, but it has a weakness; it requires a way to verify that a person's public key is actually theirs. Otherwise, there would be no way to stop an attacker from making an email address with your friend's name, creating keys to go with it and impersonating your friend. That's why the free software programmers that developed email encryption created keysigning and the Web of Trust.</p> <p>When you sign someone's key, you are publicly saying thatyou trustyou've verified that itdoes belongbelongs to them and not someone else.</p> <p>Signing keys and signing messages use the same type of mathematical operation, but they carry very different implications. It's a good practice to generally sign your email, but if you casually sign people's keys, you may accidently end up vouching for the identity of animpostor. Peopleimposter.</p> <p>People who use your public key can seethe number of signatures it has.who has signed it. Once you've used GnuPG for a long time,youyour key may have hundreds of signatures. You can consider a key to be more trustworthy if it has many signatures from people that you trust. The Web of Trust isthea constellation ofallGnuPG users, connected to each other by chains of trustexpressed through signatures, formingexpressed through signatures.</p> </div><!-- End .section-intro --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-4a" class="step"> <div class="sidebar"> <p><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/section4-web-of-trust.png" alt="Section 4: Web of Trust" /></p> </div><!-- /.sidebar --> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 4.a</em> Sign a key</h3> <p>In your email program's menu, go to Enigmail → Key Management.</p> <p>Right click on Edward's public key and select Sign Key from the context menu.</p> <p>In the window that pops up, select "I will not answer" and click ok.</p> <p>Now you should be back at the Key Management menu. Select Keyserver → Upload Public Keys and hit ok.</p> <p class="notes">You've just effectively said "I trust that Edward's public key actually belongs to Edward." This doesn't mean much because Edward isn't agiant network. The more signaturesreal person, but it's good practice.</p> <!--<div id="pgp-pathfinder"> <form enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" action="/mk_path.cgi" method="get"> <p><strong>From:</strong> <input type="text" placeholder="xD41A008" name="FROM"></p> <p><strong>To:</strong> <input type="text" placeholder="50BD01x4" name="TO"></p> <p class="buttons"><input type="submit" value="trust paths" name="PATHS"> <input type="reset" value="reset" name=".reset"></p> </form> </div>End #pgp-pathfinder --> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-4a .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ akey has,div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-identify_keys" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3>Identifying keys: Fingerprints andthe more signatures its signers' keys have, the more trustworthy that key is.</p>IDs</h3> <p>People's public keys are usually identified by their key fingerprint, which is a string of digits like F357AA1A5B1FA42CFD9FE52A9FF2194CC09A61E8 (for Edward's key). You can see the fingerprint for your public key, and other public keys saved on your computer, by going to Enigmail → Key Management in your email program's menu, then right clicking on the key and choosing Key Properties. It's good practice to share your fingerprint wherever you share your email address, so that people can double-check that they have the correct public key when they download yours from a keyserver.</p> <p class="notes">You may also see public keys referred to by their key ID, which is simply the last8eight digits of the fingerprint, like C09A61E8 for Edward. The key ID is visible directly from the Key Management window. This key ID is like a person's first name (it is a useful shorthand but may not be unique to a given key), whereas the fingerprint actually identifies the key uniquely without the possibility of confusion. If you only have the key ID, you can still look up the key (as well as its fingerprint), like you did in Step 3, but if multiple options appear, you'll need the fingerprint of the person to whom you are trying tocommunicate to verify which one to use.</p> </div><!-- End .section-intro --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-4a" class="step"> <div class="sidebar"> <p><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/section4-web-of-trust.png" alt="Section 4: Web of Trust" /></p> </div><!-- /.sidebar --> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Step 4.a</em> Sign a key</h3> <p>In your email program's menu, go to Enigmail → Key Management.</p> <p>Right click on Edward's public key and select Sign Key from the context menu.</p> <p>In the window that pops up, select "I will not answer" and click ok.</p> <p>Now you should be back at the Key Management menu. Select Keyserver → Upload Public Keys and hit ok.</p> <p class="notes">You've just effectively said "I trust that Edward's public key actually belongs to Edward." This doesn't mean much because Edward isn't a real person, but it's good practice.</p> <!--<div id="pgp-pathfinder"> <form enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" action="/mk_path.cgi" method="get"> <p><strong>From:</strong> <input type="text" placeholder="xD41A008" name="FROM"></p> <p><strong>To:</strong> <input type="text" placeholder="50BD01x4" name="TO"></p> <p class="buttons"><input type="submit" value="trust paths" name="PATHS"> <input type="reset" value="reset" name=".reset"></p> </form> </div><!-- End #pgp-pathfinder -->communicate to verify which one to use.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End#step-4a .step -->#step-sign_real_keys .step--> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <divid="step-sign_real_keys"id="check-ids-before-signing" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Important:</em>check people's identification beforeWhat to consider when signingtheirkeys</h3> <p>Before signing arealperson's key,always make sureyou need to be confident that it actually belongs to them, and that they are who they say they are.AskIdeally, this confidence comes from having interactions and conversations with themto show you their ID (unless you trustover time, and witnessing interactions between themvery highly)andtheirothers. Whenever signing a key, ask to see the full public keyfingerprint --fingerprint, and not just the shorterpublickeyID, which could referID. If you feel it's important toanothersign the keyas well.of someone you've just met, also ask them to show you their government identification, and make sure the name on the ID matches the name on the public key. In Enigmail, answer honestly in the window that pops up and asks "How carefully have you verified that the key you are about to sign actually belongs to the person(s) namedabove?".</p>above?" </p> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="troubleshooting"> <h4>Advanced</h4> <dl> <dt>Master the Web of Trust</dt> <dd>Unfortunately, trust does not spread between users the way <a href="http://fennetic.net/irc/finney.org/~hal/web_of_trust.html">many people think</a>. One of best ways to strengthen the GnuPG community is to deeply <a href="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x334.html">understand</a> the Web of Trust and to carefully sign as many people's keys as circumstances permit.</dd> <dt>Set ownertrust</dt> <dd>If you trust someone enough to validate other people's keys, you can assign them an ownertrust level through Enigmails's key management window. Right click on the other person's key, go to the "Select Owner Trust" menu option, select the trustlevel and click OK. Only do this once you feel you have a deep understanding of the Web of Trust.</dd> </dl> </div><!-- /.troubleshooting --> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-sign_real_keys .step--> </div></section><!-- End #section4 --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 5: Use it well ~~~~~~~~~ --> <section id="section5" class="row"><div> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div class="section-intro"> <h2><em>#5</em> Use it well</h2> <p>Everyone uses GnuPG a little differently, but it's important to follow some basic practices to keep your email secure. Not following them, you risk the privacy of the people you communicate with, as well as your own, and damage the Web of Trust.</p> </div><!-- End .section-intro --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-5a" class="step"> <div class="sidebar"> <p><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/section5-01-use-it-well.png" alt="Section 5: Use it Well" /></p> </div><!-- /.sidebar --> <div class="main"> <h3>When should Iencrypt?</h3>encrypt? When should I sign?</h3> <p>The more you can encrypt your messages, the better. If you only encrypt emails occasionally, each encrypted message could raise a red flag for surveillance systems. If all or most of your email is encrypted, people doing surveillance won't know where tostart.</p> <p>That'sstart. That's not to say that only encrypting some of your emailisn't helpful -- it's a great start and it makes bulk surveillance more difficult.</p>isn't helpful -- it's a great start and it makes bulk surveillance more difficult.</p> <p>Unless you don't want to reveal your own identity (which requires other protective measures), there's no reason not to sign every message, whether or not you are encrypting. In addition to allowing those with GnuPG to verify that the message came from you, signing is a non-intrusive way to remind everyone that you use GnuPG and show support for secure communication. If you often send signed messages to people that aren't familiar with GnuPG, it's nice to also include a link to this guide in your standard email signature (the text kind, not the cryptographic kind).</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-5a .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-5b" class="step"> <div class="sidebar"> <p><img src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/section5-02-use-it-well.png" alt="Section 5: Use it Well" /></p> </div><!-- /.sidebar --> <div class="main"><h3><em>Important:</em> Be<h3>Be wary of invalid keys</h3> <p>GnuPG makes email safer, but it's still important to watch out for invalid keys, which might have fallen into the wrong hands. Email encrypted with invalid keys might be readable by surveillance programs.</p> <p>In your email program, go back to thesecondfirst encrypted email that Edward sent you. Because Edward encrypted it with your public key, it will have a message from Enigmail at the top, which most likely says "Enigmail: Part of this message encrypted."</p> <p><b>When using GnuPG, make a habit of glancing at that bar. The program will warn you there if you get an email encrypted with a key that can't be trusted.</b></p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-5b .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-5c" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3>Copy your revocation certificate to somewhere safe</h3> <p>Remember when you created your keys and saved the revocation certificate that GnuPG made? It's time to copy that certificate onto the safest digital storage that you have -- the ideal thing is a flash drive, disk, or hard drive stored in a safe place in yourhome.</p>home, not on a device you carry with you regularly.</p> <p>If your private key ever gets lost or stolen, you'll need this certificate file to let people know that you are no longer using that keypair.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-5c .step --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="step-lost_key" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3><em>Important:</em> act swiftly if someone gets your private key</h3> <p>If you lose your private key or someone else gets ahold of it (say, by stealing or cracking your computer), it's important to revoke it immediately before someone else uses it to read your encryptedemail.email or forge your signature. This guide doesn't cover how to revoke a key, but you can followthethese <ahref="https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual.html#AEN305">instructions on the GnuPG site</a>.href="https://www.hackdiary.com/2004/01/18/revoking-a-gpg-key/">instructions</a>. After you're done revoking, make a new key and send an email to everyone with whom you usually use your key to make sure theyknow.</p>know, including a copy of your new key.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-lost_key .step--> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <!---<div id="transfer-key" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3>Transferring you key</h3> <p>You can use Enigmail's <a href="https://www.enigmail.net/documentation/keyman.php">key management window</a> to import and export keys. If you want to be able to read your encrypted email on a different computer, you will need to export your secret key from here. Be warned, if you transfer the key without <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EncryptedFilesystemsOnRemovableStorage">encrypting</a> the drive it's on the transfer will be dramatically less secure.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-lost_key .step--> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ --> <div id="webmail-and-GnuPG" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3>Webmail and GnuPG</h3> <p>When you use a web browser to access your email, you're using webmail, an email program stored on a distant website. Unlike webmail, your desktop email program runs on your own computer. Although webmail can't decrypt encrypted email, it will still display it in its encrypted form. If you primarily use webmail, you'll know to open your email client when you receive a scrambled email.</p> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-lost_key .step--> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ <div id="step-5d" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h3>Make your public key part of your online identity</h3> <p> First add your public key fingerprint to your email signature, then compose an email to at least five of your friends, telling them you just set up GnuPG and mentioning your public key fingerprint. Link to this guide and ask them to join you. Don't forget that there's also an awesome <a href="infographic.html">infographic to share.</a></p> <p class="notes">Start writing your public key fingerprint anywhere someone would see your email address: your social media profiles, blog, Website, or business card. (At the Free Software Foundation, we put ours on our <a href="https://fsf.org/about/staff">staff page</a>.) We need to get our culture to the point that we feel like something is missing when we see an email address without a public key fingerprint.</p> </div><!-- End .main </div> End #step-5d .step--> </div></section><!-- End #section5 --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 6: Next steps ~~~~~~~~~ --> <section class="row" id="section6"> <div id="step-click_here" class="step"> <div class="main"> <h2><a href="next_steps.html">Great job! Check out the next steps.</a></h2> </div><!-- End .main --> </div><!-- End #step-click_here .step--> </section><!-- End #section6 --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FAQ ~~~~~~~~~ --> <!-- When un-commenting this section go to main.css and search for /* Guide Sections Background */ then add #faq to the desired color <section class="row" id="faq"><div> <div class="sidebar"> <h2>FAQ</h2> </div> <div class="main"> <dl> <dt>My key expired</dt> <dd>Answer coming soon.</dd> <dt>Who can read encrypted messages? Who can read signed ones?</dt> <dd>Answer coming soon.</dd> <dt>My email program is opening at times I don't want it to open/is now my default program and I don't want it to be.</dt> <dd>Answer coming soon.</dd> </dl> </div> </div> </section> --><!-- End #faq --> <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Footer ~~~~~~~~~ --> <footer class="row" id="footer"><div> <div id="copyright"> <h4><a href="https://u.fsf.org/ys"><img alt="Free Software Foundation" src="//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/fsf-logo.png" /></a></h4> <p>Copyright ©20142014-2016 <a href="https://u.fsf.org/ys">Free Software Foundation</a>, Inc. <a href="https://my.fsf.org/donate/privacypolicy.html">Privacy Policy</a>.<a href="https://u.fsf.org/yr">Join.</a></p> <p><em>Version 3.0. <a href="http://agpl.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/edward/CURRENT/edward.tar.gz">Source code of Edward reply botPlease support our work byJosh Drake <zamnedix@gnu.org> available under the GNU General Public License.</a></em></p><a href="https://u.fsf.org/yr">joining us as an associate member.</a></p> <p>The images on this page are under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (or later version)</a>, and the rest of it is under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license (or later version)</a>.—Download the <a href="http://agpl.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/edward/CURRENT/edward.tar.gz">source code of Edward reply bot</a> by Andrew Engelbrecht <sudoman@ninthfloor.org> and Josh Drake <zamnedix@gnu.org>, available under the GNU Affero General Public License. <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#OtherLicenses">Why these licenses?</a></p><p>Download the source package for <a href="emailselfdefense_source.zip">this guide</a>. Fonts<p>Fonts used in the guide & infographic: <a href="https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Dosis">Dosis</a> by Pablo Impallari, <a href="http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Signika">Signika</a> by Anna Giedryś, <a href="http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Archivo+Narrow">Archivo Narrow</a> by Omnibus-Type, <ahref="http://www.thegopherarchive.com/gopher-files-hacks-pxl2000-119351.htm">PXL-2000</a>href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Graphics_Howto#Pitfalls">PXL-2000</a> by Florian Cramer.</p><p><p>Download the <ahref="//weblabels.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/" rel="jslicense">href="emailselfdefense_source.zip">source package</a> for this guide, including fonts, image source files and the text of Edward's messages.</p> <p>This site uses the Weblabels standard for labeling <a href="https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/freejs">free JavaScript</a>. 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