Thunderbird - secure email client

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free and open source email client for receiving, sending and storing emails. You can manage multiple email accounts using a single program. Enigmail and GPG will enable you to bring privacy and security to your email communication through the use of encryption.

Homepage www.mozilla.com/thunderbird Computer Requirements All Windows Versions Versions used in this guide Thunderbird 2.0.0.18 Enigmail 0.95.7 GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG) 1.4.9 License Free and Open-Source Software

Installing Thunderbird Read the brief Hands-on Guide Introduction Click the Thunderbird icon below and 'Open' or 'Run' the installer. If necessary, save the installer first, then find it and doubleclick it Click the Enigmail icon and save the Add-on Click the GnuPG icon and save the installer Continue through the Guide and Install Enigmail and GnuPG when you reach Section 4.1 After installation, you may delete any installers or add-ons that you saved to your computer Thunderbird:     Enigmail:                         GnuPG:

Required Reading

• How-to Booklet chapter 7. Keeping your Internet Communication Private

Level: 1: Beginner, 2: Average and 3: Intermediate, 4: Experienced, 5: Advanced

Time required to start using this tool: 40 minutes

What you will get in return:

• The ability to manage different e-mail accounts through a single program
• The ability to read and compose messages after disconnecting from the Internet
• The ability to use public key encryption to keep your email private

1.1 Things you should know about this tool before you start

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, cross-platform and open source email client for receiving, sending and storing emails. An email client is a computer application that lets you download and manage your email messages without an Internet browser. You can manage multiple email accounts using a single program. You must have an existing email account before using Thunderbird. In this chapter, you will learn how to set up Thunderbird for use with a RiseUp and a Gmail account.

Enigmail is an add-on developed for Thunderbird. It lets users access the authentication and encryption features provided by GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG). GnuPG is a program used to generate and manage the key pairs that are used in public key encryption to keep your email communications private and secure. Before you can begin using Enigmail, you must install GnuPG as described later on in this chapter.