πŸ” Secure Private πŸ“© Email Part III: Mig ...

πŸ” Secure Private πŸ“© Email Part III: Migrating Thunderbird πŸ”‘ PGP Keys

Nov 05, 2022

Was planning short video clip on Pinephone with Thunderbird, PGP, onionmail setup. Decided to take some screenshots, sharing one way to migrate PGP keys, one device to another.


🐦 πŸ” Secure Private πŸ“© Email Series (Now Public)


⭐ PART I: Introducing Federated Tor πŸ“© Onionmail

⭐ PART II: βš™οΈ Configuring 🐦 Thunderbird + πŸ”‘ PGP End-To-End Encrypted πŸ“© Email

⭐ PART III: Migrating 🐦 Thunderbird πŸ”‘ PGP Keys To / From Devices


STEP 1: Open End-To-End Settings: OpenPGP Key Manager


STEP 2: File -> Backup Secret Key(s) To File


STEP 3: You should see a message as below (remember any passwords you set)


STEP 4: Encrypt Keyfile For Greater Storage / Migration Security (post: delete original key backup)


Get Help: gpg -h

GPG: Password Protected Encryption Of File:

(tip: use 'tab' key to autocomplete name of keyfile after typing first couple letters)

gpg -c keyfilenamehere.asc

(resulting encrypted file will be named keyfilenameHere.asc.gpg)


STEP 5: Transfer Encrypted Secret Key (.gpg) By Email, Better Yet: ssh / scp (shown below)

TIP: the secret key always stays with us; we only import and share public keys with others


STEP 6: Login SSH To Remote System (Key Transferred To);

NEXT: Decrypt File

gpg -d keyfileName.asc.gpg > keyfileNameyouwant.asc

(remember: hitting tab after typing first couple letters autocompletes long keyfile name)


πŸ”‘ IMPORTING KEYS INTO THUNDERBIRD DEVICES

STEP 7: On New Device (where you sent key backup) Setup Account As In Part II, Then Select The Account, And Then Select "End-To-End Encryption":


STEP 8: Open Key Manager: Import Key

Next: File -> Import Secret Key


πŸ”‘ Select Key For Your Email Identity

When migrating another's public key (you will need to do so for all you wish to have end-to-end encrypted emails with), check public key fingerprint to ensure it matches.

Example: I share my public PGP key fingerprint on my website. The more sources (ex: others signing off on key) you can verify this PGP fingerprint, the more confidence in a given key.

Fingerprints Listed On Mainpage:

TIP: Sharing Public Keys By Privatebin:


Fingerprint shown inside Account Settings -> End-To-End Encryption:

(select the key to be used when modifying end-to-end encryption settings for an account)


Having our PGP encrypted email setup on multiple devices makes for convenient, mobile, secure communication.

The option to use additionally secured protocols like onionmail: completely up to us.


πŸ’‘SHARE SECURE / PRIVATE EMAIL SERIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA (THANKS FOR HELP)


🍾 Enjoy πŸ” Secure / Private πŸ“© Email Series?

Share Feedback / Leave A Comment:

(feedback / sharing always appreciated)


πŸ’‘ Test Onionmail: Send Series Author Email

πŸ§… Tor Link: Onionmail PGP Key (import for end-to-end encryption)


🐘 Follow On Mastodon

🐦 Follow On Twitter

(video channels linked on frontpage)


πŸ”— RELATED LINKS

Onionmail Project (donate to onionmail)

Example Onionmail Server (Ridot)

Thunderbird Mail Client (donate)

Tor Project (donate)


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