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PKI (Mac) - Configuring Mail.app

PKI can be used with Mail.app to send secure, digitally encrypted email. If you have not installed your digital certificate, please see PKI (Mac) - Downloading your Digital Certificate

These instructions assume that the Mail.app email client is installed and configured for WiscMail.

Using PKI with Mail.app

No configuration is necessary. Once your certificate is imported into your Keychain, Mail is ready to begin using it. You will notice two new buttons on the right-hand side of the message window when you compose or reply to a message.

Here they are in the message window:

The sunburst icon represents whether the message is signed, and the padlock icon indicates whether the message is encrypted. By default, your messages are neither signed nor encrypted.

To digitally sign a message, begin addressing the message as you normally would. Click the sunburst icon with the "x". The "x" will change to a checkmark, signifying the message is now signed with your digital identity.

The padlock icon will remain grayed out until you receive a message from someone else that has been digitally signed with their certificate. Once an exchange of signed messages has taken place, the padlock will become available, and you may start signing and encrypting your messages. This ensures the security of your messages, and allows the recipient to have a greater degree of trust that the message originated from you.

When you receive messages from others, you will notice that they will now contain additional information in the header about whether the message is signed, encrypted, or both, as appropriate.