Enigmail, a simple interface for OpenPGP email security

This howto discusses setting up the Mozilla MUA to use the Enigmail frontend for GNUPG/(open)PGP to provide digital signatures, and end-to-end encryption/decryption (see below for licensing and other legal issues).

1. Obtain and install GNUPG from the download page.

If you are using Lnux/Unix download the latest source version, compile and install with the familiar

cd ../
./configure
./make install

If you are using win32 (win9x,NT,win2k,XP) download the binary version indicated by a (B) and unzip (if you do not have unzip see [1] below) to the default directory C:/Gnupg. Note: You can install elsewhere but you need to read the README.W32 file regarding registry keys and don't forget to enter the installation path in the enigmail settings.

Note: There is a considerable security concern with multi-user windows installations in that the private and public key rings are kept in a single folder, the installation folder (not a problem in a single user installation!). The solution to the problem is to get GPG to recognise the $GNUPGHOME environment variable set to different folders (for separate key rings) for each login (user). However at the time of writing the MingW32 compiled binary of GPG does not recognise the environment variable. This problem does not exist under Unix as each user has their own 'home' directory in which private/public keyrings are stored.

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Ubuntu is a Linux distribution that offers an operating system predominantly focused on desktop computers but also provides support for servers. Based on Debian GNU / Linux, Ubuntu focuses on ease of use, freedom in usage restriction, regular releases (every 6 months) and ease of installation.