Hello! Email has undoubtedly increased its presence. Indeed, we are talking about an almost indispensable tool. So much so that it has almost completely replaced paper correspondence. This is largely due to ecological reasons. But also because of the immediacy with which messages are received. However, it has always had its share of problems. For example, the lack of privacy. It is important that our personal information does not fall into the hands of third parties. Such as cybercriminals or even government agencies. Therefore, today we will see how to encrypt emails.
How to encrypt emails using a browser extension.
There are email providers that offer message encryption. There are also email managers such as Thunderbird that offer this possibility. However, today we will look at another option. An option that will not require you to change provider, or install an email manager. To achieve our goal, we will use a web browser extension. Specifically Mailvelope. Which is an extension that we can install on Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. Its main function is to securely encrypt emails with PGP, using webmail providers. In addition, it is compatible with Gmail and Outlook, two of the most used servers.
Encrypting email with Mailvelope
This add-on offers end-to-end encryption for email. With the advantage that you don’t have to change your email provider. Additionally, encryption and decryption are performed on the end devices. Consequently, the data will never leave the computer unencrypted. Let’s see how to do it. First, install the extension according to your web browser.
Once installed, we have to click on the red button of the application.
Then you have to click on Let’s get start!. This will redirect us to another screen. To start, it is necessary to generate a new password. To do so, click on Generate key.
In the next screen you must enter a name, email and password. Finally, click on Generate. Now you have to go to the email address you provided, to verify it. This way, other Mailvelope users will be able to send us encrypted emails. You will then see an email like this in your inbox:
To decrypt the message, please click on Show message. You will see a window like this, where you must enter the password you assigned. After this is done, you will reveal the content of the email. Now click on the link to verify your email account.
You are now ready to use the program. Please remember to use the corresponding password. Also, to send an encrypted email, just click on the red button, right next to Compose.
Okay, ultimately we have seen how to encrypt emails. As we said, there are other options. But we found this one to be the most user friendly and easy to use. See you later!
