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Personal Email Certificates for Outlook - Digital Signature

A PERSONAL EMAIL CERTIFICATE is a certificate that verifies that the email is from the original author and that the email message isn't altered. This is like a seal on an real message. That seal might be a wax spot with a unique marking. The seal doesn't prevent someone from reading the message (this is the job of encryption). All someone has to do is open the message. What the seal does, it that it ensures that the message is verified from the author and that the message hasn't been altered.

There are several places to get PERSONAL EMAIL CERTIFICATES. MOZILLA helped in identifying some of those places here:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Getting_an_SMIME_certificate

After about a minute of searching, I figured the best route to go was with COMODO as it's free. I can afford free.

Get a Personal Email Certificate

Export the Personal Email Certificate

The issue here is that we need it installed on the OS SYSTEM (not in the BROWSER).

  • -click FIREFOX > PREFERENCES > ADVANCED (on the left-hand side) > CERTIFICATES (at the top).
  • -click VIEW CERTIFICATES (at the bottom).
  • -click YOUR CERTIFICATES (at the top).
  • -click BACKUP (at the bottom).
  • -save the certificate to your DESKTOP.
  • -type in a password so it can't be used elsewhere.
  • -it should save it as something like "foo.p12"

Great! You have the certificate on your system. Now we have to install it.

Install the Personal Email Certificate on MAC OS X (not needed on Windows 10)

Let's install the Personal Email Certificate.
(FYI - this is for a MAC OS X system.)

  • -click GO > UTILITIES > KEYCHAIN ACCESS
  • -click FILE > IMPORT ITEMS (at the top menu).
  • -select the file "foo.p12"
  • -select LOGIN (next to "Destination Keychain").
  • -click OPEN.
  • -type in the password for the certificate.
  • -type in the password for the keychain (if required).

That's it! It should save the certificate in the correct spot.

Get OUTLOOK to Use the Personal Email Certificate

Now we have to get OUTLOOK to use the Personal Email Certificate.

This is for a MAC OS X system / OUTLOOK 2011:

  • -click TOOLS (at the top) > ACCOUNTS > ADVANCED (at the bottom).
  • -click SECURITY (at the top).
  • -find the top section called DIGITAL SIGNING.
  • -select your certificate.
  • -click SIGN OUTGOING MESSAGES.
  • -click OK (at the bottom).

This is for WINDOWS 10 / OUTLOOK 2016:

  •  -open OUTLOOK 2016
  • -click FILE > OPTIONS
  • -click TRUST-CENTER (on the left-hand side).
  • -click TRUST-CENTER-SETTINGS (bottom-right).
  • -click EMAIL-SECURITY (left-hand side).
  • -find DIGITAL-ID'S (CERTIFICATES) section
  • -click IMPORT/EXPORT
  • -find the .p12 file.
  • -type in the password that you created for the file.
  • -click OK.
  • -checkmark ADD DIGITAL SIGNATURE TO OUTGOING MESSAGES.
  • -click OK > OK.

That should do it! Your certificate is installed and people will get a little cool lock that indicates that email messages from you are really yours. This gives confidence to your readers that you are who you say you are and that you really are smart and conscience about security! Good job!

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