How to archive/store encrypted emails

How to archive/store encrypted emails

It is probably not wise to store the readable (clear) text of your encrypted emails on your computer (after all, they were encrypted for a reason). Therefore it makes sense to store the encrypted copies of the emails.

You may already have guessed resulting problem: To decrypt the archived emails you need the private key of the recipient, which will (should) never be available to you.

The solution: You encrypt the messages to yourself as well.

You can encrypt a message designated for a recipient (ex. Adele) using their own as well as your own public key, which allows you to decrypt the text later using your own private key.

Since Gpg4win cannot tell the difference between the different keys used to encrypt a message (ie. you could have more than one key), you need to set up the program accordingly.

To use this option, right click on the WinPT icon select Preferences -> GPG.

email programs which directly support GnuPG will also feature this option.

1. You responded to the recipient by encrypting an email with his/her public key.
2. You also set up WinPT to encrypt archived copies of your emails with your own public key.

==> We recommend you read Chapter 10 to 12 of the manual " Gpg4win for Advanced Users" for additional information on adding signatures to emails, as well as importing and using an existing private key in GnuPG.

==> Furthermore, Chapters 13 and 14 of the manual "Gpg4win for Advanced Users" provide additional information about the ideas behind GnuPG's security features, as well as detailed insights into the mathematical concepts used. These chapters are easy to read, as they were written for the every day user, not mathematicians and cryptographers.

How to archive/store encrypted emails