May 03, 2005
HOWTO: install a personal cert for Mail.app
After starting on a quest to sign my personal email messages, I found this three-step HOWTO at MacMerc.
Thawte has a clear signup process, with well-presented information about security and why they ask the questions they do. They also allow you to customize the questions for password recovery, which I liked a lot.
Thawte then send a special URL to the email address specified for the certificate. Once you follow the instructions within, another browser window opens. This leads you through the steps to requesting the actual certificate: you need to choose the type X.509 cert: select "Netscape Navigator / Communicator"; neither Apple OSX nor Mail.app are an option.
You will receive a second email message when the cert is ready. Returning to thawte's web site, I clicked on the certificate name and then on "Fetch" caused Safari to download the cert (via a PC Application named "deliver.exe" -- the most curious part of this process, since the cert is all about security, and sending me a small, unexpected, and anonymously-named app to "deliver" something onto my computer is counter-intuitive. This finally stuck it into my Keychain.
The coolest part comes now: I opened a new mail message in Mail.app, and voilą!, an icon appears at the bottom-right of the addressing pane, and I can send signed email messages.
