Ubuntu
evolution package

encrypt gpg by default

Asked by 10111

Hello!

I want evolution to encrypt my sent messages automatically if there's a key for the receiver available. How can I achieve this?

Thank you,

10111

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pablitofuerte (pablitofuerte) said : 		#1

Evolution (at least the latest versions) has PGP/GPG support built in.

Edit > Preferences > Mail Accounts > Edit > Security

Also, in each message you compose there is a "Security" option on the toolbar that allows you to sign/encrypt a message. You'll have to have a keypair generated already in your home directory.

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10111 (joachim-neu) said : 		#2

Thank you for your fast answer.

I already found the GPG-settings and set everything up. Signing all outgoing messages by default works but they are not automatically encrypted no matter if there's a key for the receiver or not.

How can I achieve that evolution checks the available keys for key belonging to the receivers' email address and encrypts an outgoing email by default if possible?

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Bhavani Shankar (bhavi) said : 		#3

This link has a detailed walkthrough

http://www.secure-my-email.com/clients_evolution.php

Regards

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10111 (joachim-neu) said : 		#4

Hello,

I'm sorry this link couldn't answer my question: Is there any way to configure evolution to encrypt outgoing messages by default (i.e. if there's a public key for the receiver available) ?

So that I don't have to enable GPG-encryption by hand (eMail Editor Window > Security > PGP Encrypt) for every mail I compose.

Thank you.

10111

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Jeruvy (jeruvy) said : 		#5

Go to evolution preferences (Edit -> preferences)
Select the email account you wish to do this to, click on Edit.
Click on the security tab.
Click on "Encrypt outgoing messages (by default)

Click OK.
Click Close.

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10111 (joachim-neu) said : 		#6

Hello,

Thank you for your answer.

I have no option called "encrypt outgoing messages (by default)". There's only:
- sign by default (in german: "Aus diesem Konto ausgehende Nachrichten immer signieren") (SET)
- do not sign some special stuff for outlook compatibility (in german: "Besprechungsanfragen nicht signieren") (NOT SET!)
- encrypt outgoing messages for myself (in german: "Beim Verschicken verschlüsselter eMails immer für mich selbst verschlüsseln") (SET)
- always trust keys in the keyring (in german: "Schlüsseln am Schlüsselbund immer vertrauen") (SET)

I'm using evolution 2.26.1 shipped with Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty - maybe you have a newer version?

Thank you,

10111

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Best Jeruvy (jeruvy) said : 		#7

Actually I'm using 2.22.3.1 on 8.04. Perhaps this feature has been removed.

According to the FAQ: (All typo's sic)

    Can i set automatical encryption to explicit contacts?

    No, currently you can only enable "Always sign outgoing messages when using this account" in
    "Edit | Preferences | Mail Accounts | Edit | Security".

The online manual for 2.26 indicates:

2.6.6.1. Adding a Signing Certificate

   1. Select Edit > Preferences.
   2. Click Certificates.
   3. Click Import.
   4. Select the file to import, then click Open.
   5. Click Close.

Similarly, you can add certificates that are sent to you independently of any authority by clicking the Contact Certificates tab and using the same import tool. You can also add new certificate authorities, which have their own certificate files, in the same way.
2.6.6.2. Signing or Encrypting Every Message

After you have added your certificate, you can sign or encrypt a message by clicking Security > S/MIME Sign or S/MIME Encrypt in the message composer.

To have every message signed or encrypted:

   1. Select Edit > Preferences, then select Mail Accounts.
   2. Select the account to encrypt the messages in.
   3. Click Edit, then click Security.
   4. Click Select next to Signing Certificate and specify the path to your signing certificate.
      or
             Click Select next to Encryption Certificate and specify the path to your encryption certificate.
   5. Select the appropriate options.
   6. Click OK.
   7. Click Close.

So my "guess" is since this option is impractical, they removed it. The S/MIME option is much more viable and hence these instructions.

The manual is online in HTML and this link puts you directly at the encryption section, where this text was quoted from:

http://library.gnome.org/users/evolution/stable/encryption.html.en

Revision history for this message
10111 (joachim-neu) said : 		#8

Ah, thank you Jeruvy! So default encryption is possible with S/MIME but not with PGP/GPG. That's sad as I want to use GPG. Thank you anyways!

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10111 (joachim-neu) said : 		#9

Thanks Jeruvy, that solved my question.

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phaidros (phaidros) said : 		#10

Well, thanks for the detailed answer, was just looking for exact that.

But, it is very sad Evolution does support default GPG encryption :/

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Mono (mono-g) said : 		#11

same here. i would like to have evolution chose pgp encryption for sending email whenever a public key is available