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  4. How can I implement my email certificate (S/MIME) in Mac OS X Mail / Apple Mail and sign/encrypt my email?
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How can I implement my email certificate (S/MIME) in Mac OS X Mail / Apple Mail and sign/encrypt my email?


For the implementation, please ensure that you have the certificate in PKCS12 format (.pfx). If you need to convert the certificate, you can use our certificate converter for this. You can find further helpful information on converting your certificate in our FAQ article "How can I create a PFX file?".

Import your certificate into your Apple Mail

1

Apple Mac OS uses Keychain Access to manage digital certificates. To import the certificate into Apple Mail, click Applications > Utilities and open Keychain Access.


2

Under Keychains please select Login and under Category please click on My Certificates. Now click on File and select Import Items.


3

Now select the certificate file that you have previously exported from Firefox and enter the password.


If you are asked whether you should automatically trust certificates issued by your CA, select the option Always trust to trust your certificate and install it.



4

The certificate is now installed and can be viewed under Category > My Certificates. Once the installation is complete, messages can be signed and/or encrypted using Mac Mail or Appple Mail.



Signing and encryption of messages

  • Signing an email ensures that the recipient knows that the email came from you and informs them that it was not modified during transmission.
  • Encrypting an email ensures that only the recipient can read the content and attachments of the email.


To encrypt e-mails, you must first have the recipient's e-mail certificate in your certificate store. To obtain the recipient's certificate, first ask the recipient to send you a signed e-mail. When you receive the signed e-mail, his certificate is automatically imported into your certificate store and you can then send an encrypted e-mail to that person.

Digitally sign a message

1

Open a new message and write down your text as usual.

2

To digitally sign a message, click the icon Sign, which is displayed in the same window.



3

If you only want to digitally sign the message, you can now send it. If you would like to encrypt the message and its attachment as well, continue with the following step before sending it.



Encrypting a message

1

Open a new message and write down your text as usual.

2

To encrypt the message, click on the Lock symbol, which is displayed in the same window.



3

If you only want to send the message encrypted, you can now send it. If you want to digitally sign the message, please follow the instructions in the previous step before sending it.

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