One of the most frustrating tasks for iPhone and iPad users is figuring out how to get it to play nicely with encrypted email with iOS Mail. Jeff Butts decided to brave the frustration, scoured the Internet for tips, and developed a method that should solve your woes.
S/MIME
Do Attachments Last Forever? — Mac Geek Gab 829
What happens to Mail attachments in your archive? Have you ever done a three finger drag? How do you manage your trash can? We mean *really* manage it? All these questions — and a lot more — are answered for you this week as Dave and John pour through the mailbag and help you learn at least five new things. Press play and enjoy listening as your two favorite geeks help make it all happen!
MacOS: Using Email Encryption in Apple's Mail
You’ve heard how easy it is to send and receive encrypted emails using Apple Mail. This is pretty important to set up, if you send sensitive data through email. In this article, Jeff Butts walks you through that configuration from beginning to end.
macOS Mail Stores Encrypted Emails in Plain Text
IT specialist Bob Gendler found that macOS Mail was storing encrypted emails in plain text. He first notified Apple on July 29, but only got a temporary fix from the company 99 days later on November 5.
The main thing I discovered was that the snippets.db database file in the Suggestions folder stored my emails. And on top of that, I found that it stored my S/MIME encrypted emails completely UNENCRYPTED. Even with Siri disabled on the Mac, it *still* stores unencrypted messages in this database!
Mr. Gendler shard a fix in his blog post.
Free Sectigo S/MIME Certificates Limited to One Month
Free Sectigo (formerly Comodo CA) S/MIME certificates, which is a standard used to encrypt emails, are now limited to one month instead of twelve.
On renewing this month, have found that the new issued Certificate only has a 1 month duration instead of 12 months, and if you want 12 months, you now need to pay. (US$48 per year, multi-year discounts available). Note: Sectigo’s Sales Team all ensure me that they still offer 12 months free, despite evidence otherwise.
If you use one of these certificates for email encryption on macOS and iOS, be warned you may have to look for another solution, like OpenPGP.
The Microsoft and Apple Team Up Debate, Efail Explained - TMO Daily Observations 2018-05-14
Andrew Orr and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to talk about the possibility of Microsoft and Apple forming a business partnership, plus they explain the Efail email encryption security flaw.
How to Protect Yourself from the Efail Encrypted Email Security Flaw
If you’re using S/MIME, PGP, or GPG encryption for messages in Apple’s Mail app or other email client apps, you could be susceptible to what’s being called Efail. You can protect your messages until app updates addressing the flaw are released, and it’s easy to do.
Physical Security Matters, Too – Mac Geek Gab 652
SMC Resets, Migration Assistant tricks, Auto-Upgrade solutions and Renting vs. Owning your Cable Modem are just the beginning for your two favorite geeks today. S/MIME is taken to a whole other level with guest Jeff Butts who helps us all understand how to make this work on both macOS and iOS! Then it’s time to dive into your system certificates – and which ones you can touch vs. those that you can’t. Security is always on the mind and a quick VPN discussion rounds that out. Then John and Dave move on to something more pleasing to the ear: sound, and how best to manage it on your Mac!
Apple, Why Don't You Want Folks Sending Secure Emails on iOS?
A slogan that has been attributed to Apple products for years is “It just works.” Why isn’t that the case with sending secure emails in iOS Mail? Jeff Butts is frustrated by this, and makes his argument that Apple should fix this long-standing problem once and for all.
Web Pages as Apps, Equipment Insurance, and Photos! – Mac Geek Gab 649
Have a webpage you use all the time? Why not make that its own, separate app? Need to create Symbolic Links (symlinks) but don’t want to use the Terminal? How about if you want to get an equipment warranty for that new Synology NAS you just bought? That’s just a sampling of the things you’ll learn in the first segment of this week’s episode. There’s more, folks. Lots more! Press play and enjoy!