ENCRYPT YOUR COMMUNICATION FOR FREE
SEND ENCRYPTED EMAILS USING MAILVELOPE
No one would like to have their communications intercepted and someone having access to them. The risk is even higher if the communication contains sensitive information. You can secure your email communication by using this free tool to encrypt your information before sending it.
For successful and secure communication, the tool uses two keys:
Public key — used for encryption
Private key — used for decryption
The public key can be shared or stored in public repositories. The private key should be stored securely and not shared to anyone not authorized to access it.
NB:
1. You need to create an account to be able to send your encrypted data.
2. The recipient needs to be equally registered.
3. Both public keys must be shared prior to the communication. This can be achieved by physically sharing the key or uploading it to a central server where anyone can access them.
4. If you forget your password to the private key, you will not be able to read encrypted messages sent to you.
#LETS ENCRYPT
Step 1: Install the Mailvelope Add-on on your browser.
Firefox Link, Chrome Link, Edge Link
Here we will be using the Firefox Browser. A permissions pop will appear asking you to add the extension to your browser. Afterwards, you can choose to allow the extension to run in your private windows.
Step 2: Generate Keys
For successful encryption, you will need to generate the public key that will be used to encrypt your data and the private key that will be used to decrypt your data.
After clicking on the Mailvelope add-on on the top right of your browser, a key management page will open where you will generate these keys.
Provide your name and email that will be linked to your keys. There is an optional Advanced Settings (Encryption Algorithm, Key Size, and Expiry Date) that will enable you customize the key generation options. The defaults should be sufficient though.
Optionally, you can upload your public key to the Mailvelope Key Server. This will enable easy sharing of your public key negating the need to physically share it with anyone intending to send encrypted data to you.
The keys will be generated and will be displayed afterwards.
You can synchronize your key with Mailvelope key server if you had selected that option when generating the keys. A verification email will be sent.
Step 3: Verification of account
You will receive a Mailvelope Key Server verification email. Ensure you login on the same browser that you have been setting up your Mailvelope.
Click to ‘Show message’ and then input the password you used when creating your keys to decrypt your message. You can choose to remember password temporarily to avoid keying in the password everytime.
Step 4: Customizing Account
Back to the Mailvelope account, select the options tab from where you can customize further settings.
Step 5: Authorizing your email domain.
While logged onto your email account, select the Mailvelope add-on icon and click on ‘Authorize this domain’ option.
When composing a new email, the Mailvelope popup appears that gives you the option to send an encrypted email.
Afterwards, a popup appears that will enable you send an encrypted email.
Enter the password you used when creating your account keys and click okay to send the message.
An encrypted email appears which can now be sent securely.
When the recipient receives the email, they can only view it after providing their password. This ensures that the email is only opened by the intended person after providing their authorized password.
Step 6: Encrypting other documents
There is an option to encrypt and decrypt documents. This can be accessed from the Encrypt and Decrypt options on the Mailvelope dashboard.
About the writer:
