HOW TO SET UP ENCRYPTED EMAILFirst get a GMail account. GMail is Google's email account. With GMail, you can use an email program called Thunderbird to download and send email. It's all Free.

https://www.google.com/

Look for the option to 'Create An Account'.

Enter the information to create your new Google account.

Get the Thunderbird EMail Program. It's all Free. Thunderbird is a program that will exist on your computer. It will run from your computer, as opposed to running from the internet.

Do an internet search using the term 'thunderbird email'

download the file and then install it

When you add your GMail account to Thunderbird it is very easy. In fact, there is an option to choose GMail right inside of Thunderbird.

Tools

Account Settings

Add Account

GMail

Encryption Program It's all Free.

http://www.gpg4win.org/download.html

download the file and then install it.

Enigmail Addon To Thunderbird It's all Free. You must download and install Enigmail

Do an internet search using the term 'Enigmail'

Install Enigmail

After you have installed Enigmail

In Thunderbird, go to the Tool menu, and choose 'Add Ons'

There should be an 'Add On' list that lists Enigmail

Choose Enigmail and click 'Install'

In Thunderbird you will have a menu item named, "OpenPGP".

When you first installed Thunderbird, I don't think that menu item existed.

Click "OpenPGP", and choose the "setup wizard".

You will be asked to create a password. They call it a, private key I think.

Make sure you can remember your passphrase (private key?) the passphrase CAN NOT be retrieved by any means. So you need to store it somewhere. I use the password manager: http:/keepass.info

Go through the steps in the "OpenPGP" wizard to set up OpenPGP and create a public and private key.

Check to See if Everything is Set Up

To create an encrypted email, you will be creating a public key and a private key. The public key can be shared with anyone. But keep the private key secret.

If you went through the wizard, you will have already created the private and public key.

In Thunderbird you will have a menu item named, "OpenPGP"

Click the OpenPGP button and choose, "Key management"

In the search box, type in the name that you gave the email account

After typing a couple of letters, the "Key Pair" that you created will appear.

If nothing appears, then you have not yet created a "Key Pair".

Other SettingsEnigmail encryption does not work very well with HTML email. So go to TOOLS, ACCOUNT SETTINGS, COMPOSITION & ADDRESSING, and Uncheck COMPOSE MESSAGES IN HTML format.

OR Don't do any of that and:

hold down the shift key as you click on "Write" in the Thunderbird window. That composes the email in plain text.

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