Email encryption helps to protect email messages sent over untrusted networks. It is very important to send any confidential emails to the recipient. The step-by-step guidelines to send a secure email are provided on this web page.
Sending an encrypted email from your Gmail account:
Go to any web browser on your computer and then access your Gmail account using your email address and password.
Click the Menu icon at the upper-right corner and select the More Tools option followed by the Extensions option.
Click the Hamburger icon at the top-left corner and select the Open Chrome web store option on the left panel.
Type ‘secure mail’ in the search bar and click the Add to Chrome button beside the Secure Mail for Gmail (by Streak).
Click the Add Extension button in the Add Secure Mail for Gmail (by Streak’ dialog box.
When you see the ‘Secure Mail for Gmail (by Streak) has been added to Chrome’ prompt dialog box, close it.
Go back to the main web page of the Gmail account, you will see the lock icon next to the Compose button for send a secure email.
Click the lock icon beside the Compose button on the left panel. This will open the New Message dialog window on the screen.
Specify the correct email address of the recipient in the To field.
After typing the subject line, fill the body of the email and click the Send Encrypted button.
As soon as the Encrypt message dialog box appears on the screen, fill the Encryption Password and Password Hint fields.
Once done, click the Encrypt & Send button. The email is sent to the recipient in an encrypted way.
Navigate to the Sent folder, open the email that you have sent, and click the ‘Decrypt messages with password’ link if you want to read the email.
The Decrypt Message dialog box will appear on the screen.
Enter a valid password in the Decrypt Password field and click the Decrypt button.
The ‘Message successfully decrypted’ message will display on the screen after you send a secure email.
Sending an encrypted email from your Microsoft Outlook account:
First, launch the main interface of the Microsoft Outlook application on your computer.
Click the New button to compose a new email. After entering the recipient’s email address in the To field, fill the subject line.
Once you type the body of the email, click the down arrow button next to the Options option.
This will display the Message Options dialog window on the screen.
Navigate to the Security section and click the Security Settings button.
Select the checkbox next to the Encrypt message contents and attachments option. Click the OK button in the Security Properties dialog window.
Click the Close button in the Message Options dialog window.
Now, send a secure email to the recipient.
Sending a secure email from your Yahoo account:
Launch the default web browser on your computer and access the Yahoo mail account using its login credentials.
After clicking the Setup or gear icon at the upper-right corner, choose the Mail Options option.
Navigate to the Advanced Settings section and select the checkbox next to the ‘Make your Yahoo Mail more secure with SSL’ option.
If you see any pop-up message on the screen, click the OK button to proceed.
Once you click the Save button, the Inbox folder will be displayed on the screen.
Compose a new email and send a secure email to the recipient.
Sending an encrypted email from Mozilla Thunderbird:
After launching the main interface of the Mozilla Thunderbird email client on your computer, navigate to the Menu icon and select the Add-ons option.
Type ‘enigmail’ in the search box and click the Install button next to the Enigmail option.
The ‘Enigmail will be installed after you restart Thunderbird’ message appears on the screen.
Click the Restart link. Now, the Mozilla Thunderbird application will be displayed on the screen.
Go to the Menu icon and select the OpenPGP option followed by the Setup Wizard option.
The OpenPGP Setup Wizard dialog window will appear on the screen.
Select the ‘Yes, I would like the wizard to get me started’ option and click Next.
In the Signing dialog window, select No, I want to create per-recipient rules for emails that need to be signed ->Next.
When the Encryption dialog window opens, select the ‘No, I will create per-recipient rules for those that sent me their public key’ and click Next.
After clicking the Yes button followed by the Next button, the Key Selection dialog window will display on the screen.
Once you select the ‘I want to create a new key pair for signing and encrypted my email’ option, click Next.
Enter a new password in the Passphrase column and retype it in the ‘Please confirm your passphrase by typing it again’ field.
Click Next in the Create Key dialog window. After selecting the Next option in the Summary dialog window, click Skip -> Finish.
Go back to the main window of the Mozilla Thunderbird application and click the Write button.
After typing the recipient’s email address in the To field, enter the correct subject line and compose a message.
Once you click the Send button, the encrypted email ie, send a secure email to the recipient.