To Forward a Message
To forward an opened message, and any files attached to it as an attachment, or quoted text:
- In the left pane of the Mail page, click the name of the email folder with the message you want to forward.
- Click the subject of the message to open the message.
- Determine whether to forward the message as an attachment or as part of
your new outgoing message, and complete one of the following:
To forward the message as an attachment, click Forward. The forwarded message appears as an attachment in the Attachments field of your outgoing message.
Click Forward Inline to quote the original message and forward the attachments. The original attachments are listed in the Attachments field of your outgoing message. HTML messages appear as attachments in the New Message page even if you selected Forward Inline.
In the Subject field, a Fwd: label is added to the subject of the original message.
- Enter the email addresses of people who should receive your message. Use a
comma to separate multiple addresses.
The fields available include:
To. Enter a recipient’s email address to send the message to the recipient.
Cc. Enter a recipient’s email address to send a copy of a message to the recipient.
Bcc. Enter a recipient’s email address in this field to send a blind copy of a message to that recipient. These addresses are not listed with the message when it is delivered.
- (Optional) Attach new files to your outgoing message. They appear in the Attachments field.
- Verify that the S/MIME features are set as desired. For more information, refer
to To Send a Signed and Encrypted Message.
Default options are set in the Options - Mail page.
If the New Message page does not have these check boxes, you do not have permission to sign or encrypt a message.
- Click Send.
To Send a Signed and Encrypted Message
The Sign all outgoing Messages field and the Encrypt all outgoing Messages are enabled if you selected them in the Settings option of the Options tab.
You can chose not to send signed and encrypted messages by deselecting the options within the New Message page. Encryption significantly increases message size.
- Click the Send icon in the upper left corner of the New
Message page, or click the Send button in the lower right corner of
the New Message page.
An error message appears if a problem occurs during the signing and encryption process, and the message is not sent.
- (Optional) If you receive a message indicating that message size exceeds the system limits, reduce the size of your message or attachments and send it again.
Understanding S/MIME
Mail supports the Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (S/MIME) specification.
To use the S/MIME features to sign or encrypt a messages:
You must have permission to use S/MIME.
You must have a smart card containing your private and public keys, or you must import your keys to a local key store on your computer. Your private key is used to sign your S/MIME messages and to decrypt incoming encrypted messages. Your public key is used by other mail users to encrypt messages intended for you.
If you use a smart card, your computer must have a card reader attached to it.
Your system administrator must publish your public key so that other mail users can access it.
Keys and Certificates
Keys contain information to identify them as only belonging to their owner. This information is referred to as a certificate. Keys and their certificates are issued from within your organization or purchased from a third-party vendor. The issuing organization is referred to as a certificate authority. You typically have only one private-public key pair, but multiple pairs are permitted.
Before Mail uses your private or public key, it checks its expiration date in the certificate against the current date. If your key has expired, you receive a message in a pop-up page, and no further S/MIME messages are created with that key. Your certificate is also checked against a certificate revocation list. If your certificate matches a certificate on the list, Mail may or may not use your key, depending on how your system is configured.
Once validated, the key is used when you send, read, forward, or reply to messages. A message can be signed, encrypted, or signed and encrypted.
Keys and their certificates are stored in one of two ways:
On a smart card. To use your private key, insert the card into a reader attached to your computer. Mail can access your private key and certificate as long as the card remains in the reader. A personal identification number might be requested and verified before the content of your card is released to Mail.
In a local key store. You obtain keys and certificates electronically, and use the importing function of your browser to import them to a local key store on your computer. The importing process is required only once for each key pair. See your browser’s online help for information about importing keys and certificates.
Understanding S/MIME Settings
Your system administrator sets your initial S/MIME settings for Mail. The settings control whether your outgoing messages are signed, encrypted, or signed and encrypted.
The settings also control whether S/MIME check boxes are displayed as checked (feature selected) or unchecked (feature deselected).
The check boxes are:
Sign Message. Available at the bottom of the page. Select to sign the current message.
Encrypt Message. Available at the bottom of the page. Select to encode the current message.
Sign all outgoing Messages. Available in the Options - Settings page under the Secure Messaging option. Select to attach a signature to all your messages you send.
To override the Sign all outgoing Messages setting on a message-by-message basis, use the Sign Message check box.
Encrypt all outgoing Messages. Available in the Options - Settings page under the Secure Messaging option. Select to encode all messages automatically.
To override the Encrypt all outgoing Messages setting on a message-by-message basis, use the Encrypt Message check box.
Review these examples of using S/MIME settings:
Your initial S/MIME settings cause all your messages to be encrypted automatically, but not signed automatically.
To sign all your messages, complete the following steps:
Click the Options tab.
Click Settings
Under the Secure Messaging option, select the Sign all outgoing Messages check box.
Click Save.
Your initial S/MIME settings cause all of your messages to be signed and encrypted automatically.
To send a new message as signed but not encrypted, complete the following steps:
Click the Compose icon on the toolbar to display the New Message page.
Compose a message.
At the bottom of the page, deselect the Encrypt Message check box.
Click Send to send the message as signed but not encrypted.
Your subsequent outgoing messages are signed and encrypted, because you changed the encryption setting for only one message.
S/MIME Functions
The table Table 4 lists and describes the S/MIME mail actions.
Table 4 Allowed S/MIME Actions
S/MIME Icons
S/MIME messages, whether signed or encrypted or both, appear in your Inbox folder with a small icon at the end of the Subject line.
The icons are:
Pen over a sheet of paper. The message is signed with a valid private key.
Broken pen over a sheet of paper. Something is wrong with the private key used to sign the message. Do not trust the signature.
Key over a lock. The message is encrypted with a valid public key.
Broken key over a lock. Something is wrong with the public key used to encrypt the message. Do not trust the contents of the encrypted message.
To View Java Console Messages
If your system administrator enables the Java Console for you, the S/MIME applet writers a variety of operating messages to the Java Console as your signed and encrypted messages are processed.
- Navigate to the page’s Control Panel.
- Double click the Java Plug-in 1.4 icon.
- Click the Basic tab.
- Click the radio button for Show Console.
- Click Apply.
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