Encrypting Email with KMail, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Evolution
LOCK AND KEY
The leading email applications include new features for helping users secure and authenticate their mail messages, but each tool has a different approach to handling tasks such as signing and encryption. This article describes how to add encryption and digital signatures to the Thunderbird, Kmail, and Evolution mail clients.
Spoofers have an easier time on the Internet than anywhere else. There’s no need to forge a signature to dispatch mail under someone else’s name; all you need is a spoofed entry in the From header. The mail protocol does not provide any kind of protection against this kind of manipulation. If you want the people you write to to be able to rely on the authenticity of your messages, you should get into the habit of signing your email messages. The same thing applies to encryption: or would you really want a curious mail server admin reading your letters? Anyone with access to one of the computers that relays mail between your outbox and the destination could theoretically read your messages. GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG) [1] is a program that protects your messages against monitoring and manipulation. GnuPG is a cryptographic system that uses asymmetric keys. For the user, this means having two keys, a private key and a public key, which are generated as a key pair. The passwordprotected private key is kept secret.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.