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252 <i class=
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254 <h2>The free software community must grow in order to meet new threats.
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261 In our now socially distant society, we can't live, work, or learn in freedom unless the software we use is free. Your membership protects everyone's digital freedoms from powerful forces using technology to disempower the public.
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422 <!-- end fsf-modal-window-elem campaign element -->
424 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ GnuPG Header and introduction text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
425 <header class=
"row" id=
"header"><div>
427 <h1>Email Self-Defense
</h1>
429 <!-- Language list for browsers that do not have JS enabled -->
430 <ul id=
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431 <li><a class=
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447 <li><a href=
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448 <strong><span style=
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451 <ul id=
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452 <li class=
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453 <li><a href=
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454 <li><a href=
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</a></li>
455 <li class=
"spacer"><a href=
"workshops.html">Teach your friends
</a></li>
456 <li class=
"spacer"><a
457 href=
"https://fsf.org/share?u=https://u.fsf.org/zb&t=Email encryption for everyone via %40fsf">
459 <img src=
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460 alt=
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465 <img src=
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466 alt=
"[Hacker News]" /></a></li>
469 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FSF Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ -->
472 <h3><a href=
"http://u.fsf.org/ys"><img
473 alt=
"Free Software Foundation"
474 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/fsf-logo.png" />
477 <div class=
"fsf-emphasis">
479 <p>We fight for computer users' rights, and promote the development of free (as
480 in freedom) software. Resisting bulk surveillance is very important to us.
</p>
482 <p><strong>Please donate to support Email Self-Defense. We need to keep
483 improving it, and making more materials, for the benefit of people around
484 the world taking the first step towards protecting their privacy.
</strong></p>
489 href=
"https://crm.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=14&pk_campaign=email_self_defense&pk_kwd=guide_donate"><img
491 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/donate.png" /></a></p>
493 </div><!-- End #fsf-intro -->
495 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Guide Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ -->
498 <p><a id=
"infographic" href=
"infographic.html"><img
499 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/infographic-button.png"
500 alt=
"View & share our infographic →" /></a>
501 Bulk surveillance violates our fundamental rights and makes free speech
502 risky. This guide will teach you a basic surveillance self-defense skill: email
503 encryption. Once you've finished, you'll be able to send and receive emails
504 that are scrambled to make sure a surveillance agent or thief intercepting
505 your email can't read them. All you need is a computer with an Internet
506 connection, an email account, and about forty minutes.
</p>
508 <p>Even if you have nothing to hide, using encryption helps protect the privacy
509 of people you communicate with, and makes life difficult for bulk surveillance
510 systems. If you do have something important to hide, you're in good company;
511 these are the same tools that whistleblowers use to protect their identities
512 while shining light on human rights abuses, corruption and other crimes.
</p>
514 <p>In addition to using encryption, standing up
515 to surveillance requires fighting politically for a
<a
516 href=
"http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html">reduction
517 in the amount of data collected on us
</a>, but the essential first step is
518 to protect yourself and make surveillance of your communication as difficult
519 as possible. This guide helps you do that. It is designed for beginners, but
520 if you already know the basics of GnuPG or are an experienced free software
521 user, you'll enjoy the advanced tips and the
<a href=
"workshops.html">guide
522 to teaching your friends
</a>.
</p>
524 </div><!-- End .intro -->
525 </div></header><!-- End #header -->
527 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 1: Get the pieces ~~~~~~~~~ -->
528 <section class=
"row" id=
"section1"><div>
530 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
531 <div class=
"section-intro">
533 <h2><em>#
1</em> Get the pieces
</h2>
535 <p class=
"notes">This guide relies on software which is
<a
536 href=
"https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">freely licensed
</a>;
537 it's completely transparent and anyone can copy it or make their
538 own version. This makes it safer from surveillance than proprietary
539 software (like Windows). Learn more about free software at
<a
540 href=
"https://u.fsf.org/ys">fsf.org
</a>.
</p>
542 <p>Most GNU/Linux operating systems come with GnuPG installed on them,
543 so you don't have to download it. Before configuring GnuPG though, you'll
544 need the IceDove desktop email program installed on your computer. Most
545 GNU/Linux distributions have IceDove installed already, though it may be
546 under the alternate name
"Thunderbird." Email programs are another way to
547 access the same email accounts you can access in a browser (like Gmail),
548 but provide extra features.
</p>
550 <p>If you already have an email program, you can skip to
<a
551 href=
"#step-1b">Step
1.b
</a>.
</p>
553 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
555 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
556 <div id=
"step-1a" class=
"step">
557 <div class=
"sidebar">
560 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step1a-install-wizard.png"
561 alt=
"Step 1.A: Install Wizard" /></p>
563 </div><!-- /.sidebar -->
566 <h3><em>Step
1.a
</em> Set up your email program with your email account
</h3>
568 <p>Open your email program and follow the wizard (step-by-step walkthrough)
569 that sets it up with your email account.
</p>
571 <p>Look for the letters SSL, TLS, or STARTTLS to the right of the servers
572 when you're setting up your account. If you don't see them, you will still
573 be able to use encryption, but this means that the people running your email
574 system are running behind the industry standard in protecting your security
575 and privacy. We recommend that you send them a friendly email asking them
576 to enable SSL, TLS, or STARTTLS for your email server. They will know what
577 you're talking about, so it's worth making the request even if you aren't
578 an expert on these security systems.
</p>
580 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
581 <div class=
"troubleshooting">
583 <h4>Troubleshooting
</h4>
586 <dt>The wizard doesn't launch
</dt>
587 <dd>You can launch the wizard yourself, but the menu option for doing so is
588 named differently in each email program. The button to launch it will be in
589 the program's main menu, under
"New" or something similar, titled something
590 like
"Add account" or
"New/Existing email account."</dd>
592 <dt>The wizard can't find my account or isn't downloading my mail
</dt>
593 <dd>Before searching the Web, we recommend you start by asking other people
594 who use your email system, to figure out the correct settings.
</dd>
596 <dt class=
"feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?
</dt>
597 <dd class=
"feedback">Please let us know on the
<a
598 href=
"https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
602 </div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
603 </div><!-- End .main -->
604 </div><!-- End #step1-a .step -->
606 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
607 <div id=
"step-1b" class=
"step">
608 <div class=
"sidebar">
610 <li><img src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step1b-01-tools-addons.png"
611 alt=
"Step 1.B: Tools -> Add-ons" /></li>
612 <li><img src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step1b-02-search.png"
613 alt=
"Step 1.B: Search Add-ons" /></li>
614 <li><img src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step1b-03-install.png"
615 alt=
"Step 1.B: Install Add-ons" /></li>
618 </div><!-- /.sidebar -->
621 <h3><em>Step
1.b
</em> Install the Enigmail plugin for your email program
</h3>
623 <p>In your email program's menu, select Add-ons (it may be in the Tools
624 section). Make sure Extensions is selected on the left. Do you see Enigmail?
625 Make sure it's the latest version. If so, skip this step.
</p>
627 <p>If not, search
"Enigmail" with the search bar in the upper right. You
628 can take it from here. Restart your email program when you're done.
</p>
630 <p>There are major security flaws in versions of GnuPG prior to
2.2.8, and
631 Enigmail prior to
2.0.7. Make sure you have GnuPG
2.2.8 and Enigmail
2.0.7,
632 or later versions.
</p>
634 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
635 <div class=
"troubleshooting">
637 <h4>Troubleshooting
</h4>
640 <dt>I can't find the menu.
</dt>
641 <dd>In many new email programs, the main menu is represented by an image of
642 three stacked horizontal bars.
</dd>
644 <dt>My email looks weird
</dt>
645 <dd>Enigmail doesn't tend to play nice with HTML, which is used to format
646 emails, so it may disable your HTML formatting automatically. To send an
647 HTML-formatted email without encryption or a signature, hold down the Shift
648 key when you select compose. You can then write an email as if Enigmail
651 <dt class=
"feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?
</dt>
652 <dd class=
"feedback">Please let us know on the
<a
653 href=
"https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
657 </div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
658 </div><!-- End .main -->
659 </div><!-- End #step-1b .step -->
660 </div></section><!-- End #section1 -->
662 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 2: Make your keys ~~~~~~~~~ -->
663 <section class=
"row" id=
"section2"><div>
665 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
666 <div class=
"section-intro">
668 <h2><em>#
2</em> Make your keys
</h2>
670 <p>To use the GnuPG system, you'll need a public key and a private key (known
671 together as a keypair). Each is a long string of randomly generated numbers
672 and letters that are unique to you. Your public and private keys are linked
673 together by a special mathematical function.
</p>
675 <p>Your public key isn't like a physical key, because it's stored in the open
676 in an online directory called a keyserver. People download it and use it,
677 along with GnuPG, to encrypt emails they send to you. You can think of the
678 keyserver as a phonebook; people who want to send you encrypted email can
679 look up your public key.
</p>
681 <p>Your private key is more like a physical key, because you keep it to
682 yourself (on your computer). You use GnuPG and your private key together to
683 descramble encrypted emails other people send to you.
<span style=
"font-weight:
684 bold;">You should never share your private key with anyone, under any
685 circumstances.
</span></p>
687 <p>In addition to encryption and decryption, you can also use these keys to
688 sign messages and check the authenticity of other people's signatures. We'll
689 discuss this more in the next section.
</p>
691 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
693 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
694 <div id=
"step-2a" class=
"step">
695 <div class=
"sidebar">
698 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/step2a-01-make-keypair.png"
699 alt=
"Step 2.A: Make a Keypair" /></p>
701 </div><!-- /.sidebar -->
704 <h3><em>Step
2.a
</em> Make a keypair
</h3>
706 <p>The Enigmail Setup wizard may start automatically. If it doesn't, select
707 Enigmail
→ Setup Wizard from your email program's menu. You don't need
708 to read the text in the window that pops up unless you'd like to, but it's
709 good to read the text on the later screens of the wizard. Click Next with
710 the default options selected, except in these instances, which are listed
711 in the order they appear:
</p>
714 <li>On the screen titled
"Encryption," select
"Encrypt all of my messages
715 by default, because privacy is critical to me."</li>
717 <li>On the screen titled
"Signing," select
"Don't sign my messages by
720 <li>On the screen titled
"Key Selection," select
"I want to create a new
721 key pair for signing and encrypting my email."</li>
723 <li>On the screen titled
"Create Key," pick a strong password! You can
724 do it manually, or you can use the Diceware method. Doing it manually
725 is faster but not as secure. Using Diceware takes longer and requires
726 dice, but creates a password that is much harder for attackers to figure
727 out. To use it, read the section
"Make a secure passphrase with Diceware" in
<a
728 href=
"https://theintercept.com/2015/03/26/passphrases-can-memorize-attackers-cant-guess/">
729 this article
</a> by Micah Lee.
</li>
732 <p>If you'd like to pick a password manually, come up with something
733 you can remember which is at least twelve characters long, and includes
734 at least one lower case and upper case letter and at least one number or
735 punctuation symbol. Never pick a password you've used elsewhere. Don't use
736 any recognizable patterns, such as birthdays, telephone numbers, pets' names,
737 song lyrics, quotes from books, and so on.
</p>
739 <p class=
"notes">The program will take a little while to finish the next
740 step, the
"Key Creation" screen. While you wait, do something else with your
741 computer, like watching a movie or browsing the Web. The more you use the
742 computer at this point, the faster the key creation will go.
</p>
744 <p><span style=
"font-weight: bold;">When the
"Key Generation Completed" screen
745 pops up, select Generate Certificate and choose to save it in a safe place on
746 your computer (we recommend making a folder called
"Revocation Certificate"
747 in your home folder and keeping it there). This step is essential for your
748 email self-defense, as you'll learn more about in
<a href=
"#section5">Section
751 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
752 <div class=
"troubleshooting">
754 <h4>Troubleshooting
</h4>
757 <dt>I can't find the Enigmail menu.
</dt>
758 <dd>In many new email programs, the main menu is represented by an image
759 of three stacked horizontal bars. Enigmail may be inside a section called
762 <dt>The wizard says that it cannot find GnuPG.
</dt>
763 <dd>Open whatever program you usually use for installing software, and search
764 for GnuPG, then install it. Then restart the Enigmail setup wizard by going
765 to Enigmail
→ Setup Wizard.
</dd>
767 <dt>More resources
</dt>
768 <dd>If you're having trouble with our
769 instructions or just want to learn more, check out
<a
770 href=
"https://www.enigmail.net/documentation/Key_Management#Generating_your_own_key_pair">
771 Enigmail's wiki instructions for key generation
</a>.
</dd>
773 <dt class=
"feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?
</dt>
774 <dd class=
"feedback">Please let us know on the
<a
775 href=
"https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
779 </div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
781 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
782 <div class=
"troubleshooting">
787 <dt>Command line key generation
</dt>
788 <dd>If you prefer using the command line for a higher
789 degree of control, you can follow the documentation from
<a
790 href=
"https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/c14.html#AEN25">The GNU Privacy
791 Handbook
</a>. Make sure you stick with
"RSA and RSA" (the default),
792 because it's newer and more secure than the algorithms the documentation
793 recommends. Also make sure your key is at least
2048 bits, or
4096 if you
794 want to be extra secure.
</dd>
796 <dt>Advanced key pairs
</dt>
797 <dd>When GnuPG creates a new keypair, it compartmentalizes
798 the encryption function from the signing function through
<a
799 href=
"https://wiki.debian.org/Subkeys">subkeys
</a>. If you use
800 subkeys carefully, you can keep your GnuPG identity much more
801 secure and recover from a compromised key much more quickly.
<a
802 href=
"https://alexcabal.com/creating-the-perfect-gpg-keypair/">Alex Cabal
</a>
803 and
<a href=
"http://keyring.debian.org/creating-key.html">the Debian wiki
</a>
804 provide good guides for setting up a secure subkey configuration.
</dd>
807 </div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
808 </div><!-- End .main -->
809 </div><!-- End #step-2a .step -->
811 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
812 <div id=
"step-2b" class=
"step">
815 <h3><em>Step
2.b
</em> Upload your public key to a keyserver
</h3>
817 <p>In your email program's menu, select Enigmail
→ Key Management.
</p>
819 <p>Right click on your key and select Upload Public Keys to Keyserver. You
820 don't have to use the default keyserver. If, after research, you would like
821 to change to a different default keyserver, you can change that setting
822 manually in the Enigmail preferences.
</p>
824 <p class=
"notes">Now someone who wants to send you an encrypted message can
825 download your public key from the Internet. There are multiple keyservers
826 that you can select from the menu when you upload, but they are all copies
827 of each other, so it doesn't matter which one you use. However, it sometimes
828 takes a few hours for them to match each other when a new key is uploaded.
</p>
830 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
831 <div class=
"troubleshooting">
833 <h4>Troubleshooting
</h4>
836 <dt>The progress bar never finishes
</dt>
837 <dd>Close the upload popup, make sure you are connected to the Internet,
838 and try again. If that doesn't work, try again, selecting a different
841 <dt>My key doesn't appear in the list
</dt>
842 <dd>Try checking
"Display All Keys by Default."</dd>
844 <dt>More documentation
</dt>
845 <dd>If you're having trouble with our
846 instructions or just want to learn more, check out
<a
847 href=
"https://www.enigmail.net/documentation/Key_Management#Distributing_your_public_key">
848 Enigmail's documentation
</a>.
</dd>
850 <dt class=
"feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?
</dt>
851 <dd class=
"feedback">Please let us know on the
<a
852 href=
"https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
856 </div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
858 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
859 <div class=
"troubleshooting">
864 <dt>Uploading a key from the command line
</dt>
865 <dd>You can also upload your keys to a keyserver through the
<a
866 href=
"https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x457.html">command line
</a>.
<a
867 href=
"https://sks-keyservers.net/overview-of-pools.php">The sks Web site
</a>
868 maintains a list of highly interconnected keyservers. You can also
<a
869 href=
"https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x56.html#AEN64">directly export
870 your key
</a> as a file on your computer.
</dd>
873 </div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
874 </div><!-- End .main -->
875 </div><!-- End #step-2b .step -->
877 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
878 <div id=
"terminology" class=
"step">
881 <h3>GnuPG, OpenPGP, what?
</h3>
883 <p>In general, the terms GnuPG, GPG, GNU Privacy Guard, OpenPGP and PGP
884 are used interchangeably. Technically, OpenPGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is the
885 encryption standard, and GNU Privacy Guard (often shortened to GPG or GnuPG)
886 is the program that implements the standard. Enigmail is a plug-in program
887 for your email program that provides an interface for GnuPG.
</p>
889 </div><!-- End .main -->
890 </div><!-- End #terminology.step-->
891 </div></section><!-- End #section2 -->
893 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 3: Try it out ~~~~~~~~~ -->
894 <section class=
"row" id=
"section3"><div>
896 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
897 <div class=
"section-intro">
899 <h2><em>#
3</em> Try it out!
</h2>
901 <p>Now you'll try a test correspondence with a computer program named Edward,
902 who knows how to use encryption. Except where noted, these are the same
903 steps you'd follow when corresponding with a real, live person.
</p>
905 <!-- <p>NOTE: Edward is currently having some technical difficulties, so he
906 may take a long time to respond, or not respond at all. We're sorry about
907 this and we're working hard to fix it. Your key will still work even without
908 testing with Edward.</p> -->
909 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
911 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
912 <div id=
"step-3a" class=
"step">
913 <div class=
"sidebar">
916 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/section3-try-it-out.png"
917 alt=
"Try it out." /></p>
919 </div><!-- /.sidebar -->
922 <h3><em>Step
3.a
</em> Send Edward your public key
</h3>
924 <p>This is a special step that you won't have to do when corresponding
925 with real people. In your email program's menu, go to Enigmail
→ Key
926 Management. You should see your key in the list that pops up. Right click
927 on your key and select Send Public Keys by Email. This will create a new
928 draft message, as if you had just hit the Write button.
</p>
930 <p>Address the message to
<a
931 href=
"mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org
</a>. Put at least one word
932 (whatever you want) in the subject and body of the email. Don't send yet.
</p>
934 <p>The lock icon in the top left should be yellow, meaning encryption is
935 turned on. We want this first special message to be unencrypted, so
936 click the icon once to turn it off. The lock should become grey, with a
937 blue dot on it (to alert you that the setting has been changed from the
938 default). Once encryption is off, hit Send.
</p>
940 <p class=
"notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
941 respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the
<a
942 href=
"#section5">Use it Well
</a> section of this guide. Once he's responded,
943 head to the next step. From here on, you'll be doing just the same thing as
944 when corresponding with a real person.
</p>
946 <p>When you open Edward's reply, GnuPG may prompt you for your password
947 before using your private key to decrypt it.
</p>
949 </div><!-- End .main -->
950 </div><!-- End #step-3a .step -->
952 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
953 <div id=
"step-3b" class=
"step">
956 <h3><em>Step
3.b
</em> Send a test encrypted email
</h3>
958 <p>Write a new email in your email program, addressed to
<a
959 href=
"mailto:edward-en@fsf.org">edward-en@fsf.org
</a>. Make the subject
960 "Encryption test" or something similar and write something in the body.
</p>
962 <p>The lock icon in the top left of the window should be yellow, meaning
963 encryption is on. This will be your default from now on.
</p>
965 <p class=
"notes">Next to the lock, you'll notice an icon of a pencil. We'll
966 get to this in a moment.
</p>
968 <p>Click Send. Enigmail will pop up a window that says
"Recipients not valid,
969 not trusted or not found."</p>
971 <p>To encrypt an email to Edward, you need his public key, so now you'll have
972 Enigmail download it from a keyserver. Click Download Missing Keys and use
973 the default in the pop-up that asks you to choose a keyserver. Once it finds
974 keys, check the first one (Key ID starting with C), then select ok. Select
975 ok in the next pop-up.
</p>
977 <p>Now you are back at the
"Recipients not valid, not trusted or not found"
978 screen. Check the box in front of Edward's key and click Send.
</p>
980 <p class=
"notes">Since you encrypted this email with Edward's public key,
981 Edward's private key is required to decrypt it. Edward is the only one with
982 his private key, so no one except him can decrypt it.
</p>
984 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
985 <div class=
"troubleshooting">
987 <h4>Troubleshooting
</h4>
990 <dt>Enigmail can't find Edward's key
</dt>
991 <dd>Close the pop-ups that have appeared since you clicked Send. Make sure
992 you are connected to the Internet and try again. If that doesn't work, repeat
993 the process, choosing a different keyserver when it asks you to pick one.
</dd>
995 <dt>Unscrambled messages in the Sent folder
</dt>
996 <dd>Even though you can't decrypt messages encrypted to someone else's key,
997 your email program will automatically save a copy encrypted to your public key,
998 which you'll be able to view from the Sent folder like a normal email. This
999 is normal, and it doesn't mean that your email was not sent encrypted.
</dd>
1001 <dt>More resources
</dt>
1002 <dd>If you're still having trouble with our
1003 instructions or just want to learn more, check out
<a
1004 href=
"https://www.enigmail.net/documentation/Signature_and_Encryption#Encrypting_a_message">
1005 Enigmail's wiki
</a>.
</dd>
1007 <dt class=
"feedback">Don't see a solution to your problem?
</dt>
1008 <dd class=
"feedback">Please let us know on the
<a
1009 href=
"https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Public_Review">feedback
1013 </div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
1015 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1016 <div class=
"troubleshooting">
1021 <dt>Encrypt messages from the command line
</dt>
1022 <dd>You can also encrypt and decrypt messages and files from the
<a
1023 href=
"https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x110.html">command line
</a>,
1024 if that's your preference. The option --armor makes the encrypted output
1025 appear in the regular character set.
</dd>
1028 </div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
1029 </div><!-- End .main -->
1030 </div><!-- End #step-3b .step -->
1032 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1033 <div id=
"step-headers_unencrypted" class=
"step">
1036 <h3><em>Important:
</em> Security tips
</h3>
1038 <p>Even if you encrypt your email, the subject line is not encrypted, so
1039 don't put private information there. The sending and receiving addresses
1040 aren't encrypted either, so a surveillance system can still figure out who
1041 you're communicating with. Also, surveillance agents will know that you're
1042 using GnuPG, even if they can't figure out what you're saying. When you
1043 send attachments, Enigmail will give you the choice to encrypt them or not,
1044 independent of the actual email.
</p>
1046 <p>For greater security against potential attacks, you can turn off
1047 HTML. Instead, you can render the message body as plain text. In order
1048 to do this in Thunderbird, go to View
> Message Body As
> Plain
1051 </div><!-- End .main -->
1052 </div><!-- End #step-headers_unencrypted .step-->
1054 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1055 <div id=
"step-3c" class=
"step">
1058 <h3><em>Step
3.c
</em> Receive a response
</h3>
1060 <p>When Edward receives your email, he will use his private key to decrypt
1061 it, then reply to you.
</p>
1063 <p class=
"notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
1064 respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the
<a
1065 href=
"#section5">Use it Well
</a> section of this guide.
</p>
1067 </div><!-- End .main -->
1068 </div><!-- End #step-3c .step -->
1070 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1071 <div id=
"step-3d" class=
"step">
1074 <h3><em>Step
3.d
</em> Send a test signed email
</h3>
1076 <p>GnuPG includes a way for you to sign messages and files, verifying that
1077 they came from you and that they weren't tampered with along the way. These
1078 signatures are stronger than their pen-and-paper cousins -- they're impossible
1079 to forge, because they're impossible to create without your private key
1080 (another reason to keep your private key safe).
</p>
1082 <p>You can sign messages to anyone, so it's a great way to make people
1083 aware that you use GnuPG and that they can communicate with you securely. If
1084 they don't have GnuPG, they will be able to read your message and see your
1085 signature. If they do have GnuPG, they'll also be able to verify that your
1086 signature is authentic.
</p>
1088 <p>To sign an email to Edward, compose any message to him and click the
1089 pencil icon next to the lock icon so that it turns gold. If you sign a
1090 message, GnuPG may ask you for your password before it sends the message,
1091 because it needs to unlock your private key for signing.
</p>
1093 <p>With the lock and pencil icons, you can choose whether each message will
1094 be encrypted, signed, both, or neither.
</p>
1099 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1100 <div id=
"step-3e" class=
"step">
1103 <h3><em>Step
3.e
</em> Receive a response
</h3>
1105 <p>When Edward receives your email, he will use your public key (which
1106 you sent him in
<a href=
"#step-3a">Step
3.A
</a>) to verify the message
1107 you sent has not been tampered with and to encrypt his reply to you.
</p>
1109 <p class=
"notes">It may take two or three minutes for Edward to
1110 respond. In the meantime, you might want to skip ahead and check out the
<a
1111 href=
"#section5">Use it Well
</a> section of this guide.
</p>
1113 <p>Edward's reply will arrive encrypted, because he prefers to use encryption
1114 whenever possible. If everything goes according to plan, it should say
1115 "Your signature was verified." If your test signed email was also encrypted,
1116 he will mention that first.
</p>
1118 <p>When you receive Edward's email and open it, Enigmail will
1119 automatically detect that it is encrypted with your public key, and
1120 then it will use your private key to decrypt it.
</p>
1122 <p>Notice the bar that Enigmail shows you above the message, with
1123 information about the status of Edward's key.
</p>
1125 </div><!-- End .main -->
1126 </div><!-- End #step-3e .step -->
1129 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 4: Learn the Web of Trust ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1130 <section class=
"row" id=
"section4"><div>
1132 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1133 <div class=
"section-intro">
1135 <h2><em>#
4</em> Learn the Web of Trust
</h2>
1137 <p>Email encryption is a powerful technology, but it has a weakness;
1138 it requires a way to verify that a person's public key is actually
1139 theirs. Otherwise, there would be no way to stop an attacker from making
1140 an email address with your friend's name, creating keys to go with it and
1141 impersonating your friend. That's why the free software programmers that
1142 developed email encryption created keysigning and the Web of Trust.
</p>
1144 <p>When you sign someone's key, you are publicly saying that you've verified
1145 that it belongs to them and not someone else.
</p>
1147 <p>Signing keys and signing messages use the same type of mathematical
1148 operation, but they carry very different implications. It's a good practice
1149 to generally sign your email, but if you casually sign people's keys, you
1150 may accidently end up vouching for the identity of an imposter.
</p>
1152 <p>People who use your public key can see who has signed it. Once you've
1153 used GnuPG for a long time, your key may have hundreds of signatures. You
1154 can consider a key to be more trustworthy if it has many signatures from
1155 people that you trust. The Web of Trust is a constellation of GnuPG users,
1156 connected to each other by chains of trust expressed through signatures.
</p>
1158 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
1160 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1161 <div id=
"step-4a" class=
"step">
1162 <div class=
"sidebar">
1165 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/section4-web-of-trust.png"
1166 alt=
"Section 4: Web of Trust" /></p>
1168 </div><!-- /.sidebar -->
1171 <h3><em>Step
4.a
</em> Sign a key
</h3>
1173 <p>In your email program's menu, go to Enigmail
→ Key Management.
</p>
1175 <p>Right click on Edward's public key and select Sign Key from the context
1178 <p>In the window that pops up, select
"I will not answer" and click ok.
</p>
1180 <p>Now you should be back at the Key Management menu. Select Keyserver
→
1181 Upload Public Keys and hit ok.
</p>
1183 <p class=
"notes">You've just effectively said
"I trust that Edward's public
1184 key actually belongs to Edward." This doesn't mean much because Edward isn't
1185 a real person, but it's good practice.
</p>
1187 <!--<div id="pgp-pathfinder">
1189 <form enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" action="/mk_path.cgi"
1192 <p><strong>From:</strong><input type="text" value="xD41A008"
1195 <p><strong>To:</strong><input type="text" value="50BD01x4" name="TO"></p>
1197 <p class="buttons"><input type="submit" value="trust paths" name="PATHS"><input
1198 type="reset" value="reset" name=".reset"></p>
1202 </div>End #pgp-pathfinder -->
1203 </div><!-- End .main -->
1204 </div><!-- End #step-4a .step -->
1206 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1207 <div id=
"step-identify_keys" class=
"step">
1210 <h3>Identifying keys: Fingerprints and IDs
</h3>
1212 <p>People's public keys are usually identified by their key fingerprint,
1213 which is a string of digits like F357AA1A5B1FA42CFD9FE52A9FF2194CC09A61E8
1214 (for Edward's key). You can see the fingerprint for your public key, and
1215 other public keys saved on your computer, by going to Enigmail
→ Key
1216 Management in your email program's menu, then right clicking on the key
1217 and choosing Key Properties. It's good practice to share your fingerprint
1218 wherever you share your email address, so that people can double-check that
1219 they have the correct public key when they download yours from a keyserver.
</p>
1221 <p class=
"notes">You may also see public keys referred to by a shorter
1222 key ID. This key ID is visible directly from the Key Management
1223 window. These eight character key IDs were previously used for
1224 identification, which used to be safe, but is no longer reliable. You
1225 need to check the full fingerprint as part of verifying you have the
1226 correct key for the person you are trying to contact. Spoofing, in
1227 which someone intentionally generates a key with a fingerprint whose
1228 final eight characters are the same as another, is unfortunately
1231 </div><!-- End .main -->
1232 </div><!-- End #step-identify_keys .step-->
1234 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1235 <div id=
"check-ids-before-signing" class=
"step">
1238 <h3><em>Important:
</em> What to consider when signing keys
</h3>
1240 <p>Before signing a person's key, you need to be confident that it actually
1241 belongs to them, and that they are who they say they are. Ideally, this
1242 confidence comes from having interactions and conversations with them over
1243 time, and witnessing interactions between them and others. Whenever signing
1244 a key, ask to see the full public key fingerprint, and not just the shorter
1245 key ID. If you feel it's important to sign the key of someone you've just
1246 met, also ask them to show you their government identification, and make
1247 sure the name on the ID matches the name on the public key. In Enigmail,
1248 answer honestly in the window that pops up and asks
"How carefully have you
1249 verified that the key you are about to sign actually belongs to the person(s)
1252 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Troubleshooting ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1253 <div class=
"troubleshooting">
1258 <dt>Master the Web of Trust
</dt>
1259 <dd>Unfortunately, trust does not spread between users the way
<a
1260 href=
"http://fennetic.net/irc/finney.org/~hal/web_of_trust.html">many people
1261 think
</a>. One of best ways to strengthen the GnuPG community is to deeply
<a
1262 href=
"https://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/manual/x334.html">understand
</a> the Web of
1263 Trust and to carefully sign as many people's keys as circumstances permit.
</dd>
1265 <dt>Set ownertrust
</dt>
1266 <dd>If you trust someone enough to validate other people's keys, you can assign
1267 them an ownertrust level through Enigmails's key management window. Right
1268 click on the other person's key, go to the
"Select Owner Trust" menu option,
1269 select the trustlevel and click OK. Only do this once you feel you have a
1270 deep understanding of the Web of Trust.
</dd>
1273 </div><!-- /.troubleshooting -->
1274 </div><!-- End .main -->
1275 </div><!-- End #check-ids-before-signing .step-->
1276 </div></section><!-- End #section4 -->
1278 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 5: Use it well ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1279 <section id=
"section5" class=
"row"><div>
1281 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ section introduction: interspersed text ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1282 <div class=
"section-intro">
1284 <h2><em>#
5</em> Use it well
</h2>
1286 <p>Everyone uses GnuPG a little differently, but it's important to follow
1287 some basic practices to keep your email secure. Not following them, you
1288 risk the privacy of the people you communicate with, as well as your own,
1289 and damage the Web of Trust.
</p>
1291 </div><!-- End .section-intro -->
1293 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1294 <div id=
"step-5a" class=
"step">
1295 <div class=
"sidebar">
1298 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/section5-01-use-it-well.png"
1299 alt=
"Section 5: Use it Well (1)" /></p>
1301 </div><!-- /.sidebar -->
1304 <h3>When should I encrypt? When should I sign?
</h3>
1306 <p>The more you can encrypt your messages, the better. If you only encrypt
1307 emails occasionally, each encrypted message could raise a red flag for
1308 surveillance systems. If all or most of your email is encrypted, people
1309 doing surveillance won't know where to start. That's not to say that only
1310 encrypting some of your email isn't helpful -- it's a great start and it
1311 makes bulk surveillance more difficult.
</p>
1313 <p>Unless you don't want to reveal your own identity (which requires other
1314 protective measures), there's no reason not to sign every message, whether or
1315 not you are encrypting. In addition to allowing those with GnuPG to verify
1316 that the message came from you, signing is a non-intrusive way to remind
1317 everyone that you use GnuPG and show support for secure communication. If you
1318 often send signed messages to people that aren't familiar with GnuPG, it's
1319 nice to also include a link to this guide in your standard email signature
1320 (the text kind, not the cryptographic kind).
</p>
1322 </div><!-- End .main -->
1323 </div><!-- End #step-5a .step -->
1325 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1326 <div id=
"step-5b" class=
"step">
1327 <div class=
"sidebar">
1330 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/en/screenshots/section5-02-use-it-well.png"
1331 alt=
"Section 5: Use it Well (2)" /></p>
1333 </div><!-- /.sidebar -->
1336 <h3>Be wary of invalid keys
</h3>
1338 <p>GnuPG makes email safer, but it's still important to watch out for invalid
1339 keys, which might have fallen into the wrong hands. Email encrypted with
1340 invalid keys might be readable by surveillance programs.
</p>
1342 <p>In your email program, go back to the first encrypted email that Edward
1343 sent you. Because Edward encrypted it with your public key, it will have a
1344 message from Enigmail at the top, which most likely says
"Enigmail: Part of
1345 this message encrypted."</p>
1347 <p><b>When using GnuPG, make a habit of glancing at that bar. The program
1348 will warn you there if you get an email signed with a key that can't
1351 </div><!-- End .main -->
1352 </div><!-- End #step-5b .step -->
1354 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1355 <div id=
"step-5c" class=
"step">
1358 <h3>Copy your revocation certificate to somewhere safe
</h3>
1360 <p>Remember when you created your keys and saved the revocation certificate
1361 that GnuPG made? It's time to copy that certificate onto the safest digital
1362 storage that you have -- the ideal thing is a flash drive, disk, or hard
1363 drive stored in a safe place in your home, not on a device you carry with
1366 <p>If your private key ever gets lost or stolen, you'll need this certificate
1367 file to let people know that you are no longer using that keypair.
</p>
1369 </div><!-- End .main -->
1370 </div><!-- End #step-5c .step -->
1372 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1373 <div id=
"step-lost_key" class=
"step">
1376 <h3><em>Important:
</em> act swiftly if someone gets your private key
</h3>
1378 <p>If you lose your private key or someone else gets ahold
1379 of it (say, by stealing or cracking your computer), it's
1380 important to revoke it immediately before someone else uses
1381 it to read your encrypted email or forge your signature. This
1382 guide doesn't cover how to revoke a key, but you can follow these
<a
1383 href=
"https://www.hackdiary.com/2004/01/18/revoking-a-gpg-key/">instructions
</a>.
1384 After you're done revoking, make a new key and send an email to everyone
1385 with whom you usually use your key to make sure they know, including a copy
1386 of your new key.
</p>
1388 </div><!-- End .main -->
1389 </div><!-- End #step-lost_key .step-->
1391 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1392 <!---<div id="transfer-key" class="step">
1395 <h3>Transferring you key</h3>
1397 <p>You can use Enigmail's <a
1398 href="https://www.enigmail.net/documentation/Key_Management">key management
1399 window</a> to import and export keys. If you want to be able to read
1400 your encrypted email on a different computer, you will need to export
1401 your secret key from here. Be warned, if you transfer the key without <a
1402 href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EncryptedFilesystemsOnRemovableStorage">encrypting</a>
1403 the drive it's on the transfer will be dramatically less secure.</p>
1405 </div>--><!-- End .main
1406 </div> End #transfer-key .step-->
1408 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1409 <div id=
"webmail-and-GnuPG" class=
"step">
1412 <h3>Webmail and GnuPG
</h3>
1414 <p>When you use a web browser to access your email, you're using webmail,
1415 an email program stored on a distant website. Unlike webmail, your desktop
1416 email program runs on your own computer. Although webmail can't decrypt
1417 encrypted email, it will still display it in its encrypted form. If you
1418 primarily use webmail, you'll know to open your email client when you receive
1419 a scrambled email.
</p>
1421 </div><!-- End .main -->
1422 </div><!-- End #webmail-and-GnuPG .step-->
1424 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ a div for each step ~~~~~~~~~
1425 <div id="step-5d" class="step">
1428 <h3>Make your public key part of your online identity</h3>
1430 <p> First add your public key fingerprint to your email signature, then
1431 compose an email to at least five of your friends, telling them you just
1432 set up GnuPG and mentioning your public key fingerprint. Link to this guide
1433 and ask them to join you. Don't forget that there's also an awesome <a
1434 href="infographic.html">infographic to share.</a></p>
1436 <p class="notes">Start writing your public key fingerprint anywhere someone
1437 would see your email address: your social media profiles, blog, Website,
1438 or business card. (At the Free Software Foundation, we put ours on our
1439 <a href="https://fsf.org/about/staff">staff page</a>.) We need to get our
1440 culture to the point that we feel like something is missing when we see an
1441 email address without a public key fingerprint.</p>
1443 </div>--><!-- End .main
1444 </div> End #step-5d .step-->
1445 </div></section><!-- End #section5 -->
1447 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Section 6: Next steps ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1448 <section class=
"row" id=
"section6">
1449 <div id=
"step-click_here" class=
"step">
1452 <h2><a href=
"next_steps.html">Great job! Check out the next steps.
</a></h2>
1454 </div><!-- End .main -->
1455 </div><!-- End #step-click_here .step-->
1456 </section><!-- End #section6 -->
1458 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ FAQ ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1459 <!-- When un-commenting this section go to main.css and search
1460 for /* Guide Sections Background */ then add #faq to the desired color
1461 <section class="row" id="faq"><div>
1462 <div class="sidebar">
1470 <dt>My key expired</dt>
1471 <dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
1473 <dt>Who can read encrypted messages? Who can read signed ones?</dt>
1474 <dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
1476 <dt>My email program is opening at times I don't want it to open/is now my
1477 default program and I don't want it to be.</dt>
1478 <dd>Answer coming soon.</dd>
1483 </section> --><!-- End #faq -->
1485 <!-- ~~~~~~~~~ Footer ~~~~~~~~~ -->
1486 <footer class=
"row" id=
"footer"><div>
1487 <div id=
"copyright">
1489 <h4><a href=
"https://u.fsf.org/ys"><img
1490 alt=
"Free Software Foundation"
1491 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/fsf-logo.png" /></a></h4>
1493 <p>Copyright
© 2014-
2016 <a
1494 href=
"https://u.fsf.org/ys">Free Software Foundation
</a>, Inc.
<a
1495 href=
"https://my.fsf.org/donate/privacypolicy.html">Privacy Policy
</a>. Please
1496 support our work by
<a href=
"https://u.fsf.org/yr">joining us as an associate
1499 <p>The images on this page are under a
<a
1500 href=
"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons
1501 Attribution
4.0 license (or later version)
</a>, and the rest of it is under
1502 a
<a href=
"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0">Creative Commons
1503 Attribution-ShareAlike
4.0 license (or later version)
</a>. Download the
<a
1504 href=
"http://agpl.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/edward/CURRENT/edward.tar.gz">
1505 source code of Edward reply bot
</a> by Andrew Engelbrecht
1506 <sudoman@ninthfloor.org
> and Josh Drake
<zamnedix@gnu.org
>,
1507 available under the GNU Affero General Public License.
<a
1508 href=
"http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#OtherLicenses">Why these
1511 <p>Fonts used in the guide
& infographic:
<a
1512 href=
"https://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Dosis">Dosis
</a> by Pablo
1513 Impallari,
<a href=
"http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Signika">Signika
</a>
1514 by Anna Giedry
ś,
<a
1515 href=
"http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/Archivo+Narrow">Archivo
1516 Narrow
</a> by Omnibus-Type,
<a
1517 href=
"https://libreplanet.org/wiki/GPG_guide/Graphics_Howto#Pitfalls">PXL-
2000</a>
1518 by Florian Cramer.
</p>
1520 <p>Download the
<a href=
"emailselfdefense_source.zip">source package
</a>
1521 for this guide, including fonts, image source files and the text of Edward's
1524 <p>This site uses the Weblabels standard for labeling
<a
1525 href=
"https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/freejs">free JavaScript
</a>. View
1526 the JavaScript
<a href=
"//weblabels.fsf.org/emailselfdefense.fsf.org/"
1527 rel=
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</a>.
</p>
1529 </div><!-- /#copyright -->
1531 <p class=
"credits">Infographic and guide design by
<a rel=
"external"
1532 href=
"http://jplusplus.org"><strong>Journalism++
</strong><img
1533 src=
"//static.fsf.org/nosvn/enc-dev0/img/jplusplus.png"
1534 alt=
"Journalism++" /></a></p><!-- /.credits -->
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