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Encrypt and Sign Gmail messages with FireGPG

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the can-you-spot-the-secret-message-in-this-dept-line dept.

Linux.com (Same owners as Slashdot) has a story up about FireGPG and says "Gmail may be an excellent Web-based email application, but there is no easy way to use it with privacy tools like GnuPG. The FireGPG extension for Firefox is designed to solve this problem. It integrates nicely into Gmail's interface and allows you...
Encrypt and sign Gmail messages with FireGPG

18 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. The Fascination with Encryption by Ian+McBeth · · Score: 5, Funny

    For me, I just like to use it, to make people think I am doing something.
    Keeps the snoops on their toes.

    1. Re:The Fascination with Encryption by Bromskloss · · Score: 5, Funny

      For me, I just like to use it, to make people think I am doing something. Keeps the snoops on their toes.

      I keep them on their toes by acting completely normal, having them looking for steganography.

      --
      Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
    2. Re:The Fascination with Encryption by MyOtherUIDis3digits · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Man, I miss the days when a post like that would have made me laugh and I would have called you a loon...

      --
      Ignore anything I said above, I actually agree with everything you believe - mod accordingly.
  2. I wouldn't think google would like this by kentmartin · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I thought their business model worked on the idea that they could datamine all your email and (among other things) offer you targeted email based on the content therein... this'll screw with that idea...

    "BUY jjhHDJEy6786ERLKLXhdfeprERIOUPewoenOIhgshgrgeyrew now for a low price on Ebay.co.uk"

  3. Re:Nerds with something to hide by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't understand this fascination with encryption. Why do people use it. Is it because you're hiding something illegal? It's kiddie porn isn't it? Be honest!


    Nope. It's secret terrorist plots to overthrow the tyrannical American Government!

    Oh, wait! I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?

    --
    My blog
  4. Altered for slashdot by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    -----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
    Version: GNUPG v0.4.0 (GNU/Linux)
    Comment: Wonderful
    ewurnfi3u834j9few4jf9oewfqvi7y&H*&HAwr8hw78er7hfw8 f7hh4839h47f7e
    wf8943f89jw3r8j9fesajaejro5gvl;rhyklyfp[ult0h43jg8 394g84953jgf84
    fnw98efj89324rtuerjgeiorgtjerilgtjireogniregunreng erniguiregt980
    werj
    -----END PGP MESSAGE-----

    I have nothing more to add

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
    1. Re:Altered for slashdot by kypper · · Score: 5, Funny

      You want me to do what with hot grits?

  5. Re:Nerds with something to hide by fluch · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is just that I don't want anybody to intrude my privacy. Do you close the envelope of a regular snail-mail letter? If so, do YOU have something to hide??

  6. Re:Nerds with something to hide by joe_cot · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't actually use it for encryption; I use it for verification.

    Besides encryption, GPG also allows you to sign messages, ensuring that the message is indeed from you, and hasn't been modified after you've signed it. In the Ubuntu Community, this is important for a) verifying messages from developers are real, b) verifying that uploaded packages were created by trusted developers, c) verifying signatures (such as signing the code of conduct).

    While FireGPG is useful, it's not so useful for signing messages; gmail auto-wordwraps messages after you send them, and FireGPG doesn't take that into account. Therefore, unless you wordwrap it yourself, gmail's going to add line breaks, and your signature will be invalid. When I need to sign messages, I either word wrap myself so that gmail doesn't, or send it through Thunderbird using Enigmail.

  7. Re:Does not this break GMAIL's business model? by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 5, Funny

    If all/most of my messages are encrypted, how will they know, what to peddle to me?
    Aluminum foil. Survival equipment. Wellbutrin.
    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  8. Re:Nerds with something to hide by SCHecklerX · · Score: 5, Informative

    You are forgetting about authentication. Email is trivial to spoof. If you *always* sign your messages, then when some asshat, say, decides to send an explicitly detailed nastygram to your boss from 'you', it is easy to prove otherwise...

    Or maybe from your secret lover, etc. You get the picture.

  9. Works with any textarea, by the way by croddy · · Score: 5, Informative
    This works with any textarea, by the way, not just GMail. Not sure why the summary doesn't mention that.

    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
    Hash: SHA1

    This works with any textarea, by the way, not just GMail. Not sure why the summary doesn't mention that.
    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
    Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux)
    Comment: http://firegpg.tuxfamily.org/

    iD8DBQFGZDU/WCKEX KsCq6IRAvAtAJ96BAdus/rVCXS+NxlEbMsDdNxTCgCfe+da
    T yi/KWbgNLQUq/qssCj2YR4=
    =Y2mA
    -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
  10. Re:Nerds with something to hide by toleraen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I generally close the envelope of snail mail so the mail doesn't fall out.

    I use security envelopes to obscure the contents of my mail. You probably would want to use that as an analogy instead.

  11. Re:Nerds with something to hide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So if you "always" sign your messages, then you can tell off anyone you want as long as you don't sign it. Brilliant!

  12. Won't AJAX textboxes kill this? by biftek · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I haven't used gmail that much, but I was under the impression that it saved drafts of what's in the composition textbox at intervals.

    That data would be all cleartext wouldn't it? Seems a tad risky to me.

  13. Your girlfriend called... by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hey, your girlfriend called. She said she couldn't read the garbled message you sent. However, I passed on your "wanna...tonight" message to her and she said "yes" but I don't think your name came up. So...if you don't mind, I'd like to get out a little early tonight...

  14. Re:Nerds with something to hide by iago-vL · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or maybe from your secret lover, etc. You get the picture.
    It's that Cathy, isn't it? She's always trying to break up Alice and Bob!
    --
    http://www.skullsecurity.org/blog/
  15. Re:Nerds with something to hide by ChrisMounce · · Score: 5, Funny

    Anonymous Coward is hoping to make a fortune on Patent #53892647956403765437856348756438756487563, "Method for tucking the flap inside the envelope".