Enigmail Setup

Time: 10 min
Difficulty: Easy
OS: macOS
Software: Thunderbird
Language: English

Before you start

Open Thunderbird email client

Go to the Enigmail/p≡p Preferences window

It’s in the upper right corner of the window

Click the Enigmail/p≡p option

Choose the option Preferences

in the following menu

Enigmail/p≡p Preferences window will open

Change the encryption method

Go to the Compatibility tab

It’s in the top bar of the window

Choose the option Force using S/MIME and Enigmail

Under the Junior Mode heading

Close the window

Go to the Enigmail Preferences window

It’s in the upper right corner of the window

This will open its sub-menu

Click the Preferences option

Enigmail Preferences window will open

Set up the methods for choosing cryptographic keys

Click the Display Expert Settings and Menus button

This will reveal more options at the top of the window

That’s at the top of the window

Check all the check boxes here

The Always (also) Manually is the most important to check

Save the settings by clicking OK

Go to Account Settings window

It’s in the upper right corner of the window

This will open its sub-menu

Click the Account Settings option

Account Settings window will open

Account Settings window is now open

Set up OpenPGP for your account

Go to the OpenPGP Security tab

It’s in the menu on the left side of the window

Check the Enable Open PGP support (Enigmail) for this identity option

That’s at the very top of this page

Check the Use PGP/MIME by default option

Under the Message Composition Default Options heading

Select the Prefer Enigmail (OpenPGP) option

Under the If both, Enigmail and S/MIME encryption are possible, then: heading

Set up Sending preferences

Click the Enigmail preferences… option

Check the Manually configure encryption settings option

and set the rest to your liking

Save the settings by clicking OK

Under the Message Composition Default Options heading

Save the settings by clicking OK once again

in the previous window

And we’re done!