Send a digitally signed message - Outlook

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Send a digitally signed message

Applies to: Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

Digitally signing a message applies your signature to the message. This includes your certificate (certificate: A digital means of proving your identity. When you send a digitally signed message you are sending your certificate and public key. Certificates are issued by a certification authority, and like a driver's license, can expire or be revoked.) and public key (public key: The key a sender gives to a recipient so that the recipient can verify the sender's signature and confirm that the message was not altered. Recipients also use the public key to encrypt (lock) e-mail messages to the sender.).

Your digital signature proves to the recipient that the contents of the message were signed by you and not an imposter, and that the contents have not been altered in transit.

Note Encrypting (encrypt: The process of converting plain, readable text into cipher (scrambled) text. The sender uses the recipient's public key to encrypt (lock) the e-mail message and attachments.) a message is a separate process.

Show Digitally sign on a per message basis

In the message, click Options .
Click Security Settings.
Select the Add digital signature to this message check box.
If available, you can select one of the following options:
- If you want recipients who don't have S/MIME (S/MIME: Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) is a specification for secure e-mail messages that uses the X.509 format for digital certificates and uses various encryption algorithms such as 3DES.) security to be able to read the message, select the Send this message as clear text signed check box. By default, the check box is selected.
- To verify that your digital signature is being validated by recipients and to request confirmation that the message was received unaltered, as well as notification telling you who opened the message and when it was opened, select the Request S/MIME receipt for all S/MIME signed messages check box. When you send a message with an S/MIME return receipt request, this verification information is returned as a message sent to your Inbox.
To change additional settings, such as choosing a specific certificate to use, click Change Settings.
Click OK three times.
Compose your message and then send it.

Show Tip

If you use Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor, there is a quick way to digitally sign a message. With the new message open, on the E-mail toolbar, click the Button image

button.

Show Digitally sign all messages

In the main Microsoft Outlook window, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Security tab.
Select the Add digital signature to outgoing messages check box.
If available, you can select one of the following options:
- If you want recipients who don't have S/MIME (S/MIME: Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) is a specification for secure e-mail messages that uses the X.509 format for digital certificates and uses various encryption algorithms such as 3DES.) security to be able to read the message, select the Send this message as clear text signed check box. By default, the check box is selected.
- To verify that your digital signature is being validated by recipients and to request confirmation that the message was received unaltered, as well as notification telling you who opened the message and when it was opened, select the Request S/MIME receipt for all S/MIME signed messages check box. When you send a message with an S/MIME return receipt request, this verification information is returned as a message sent to your Inbox.
To change additional settings, such as choosing a specific certificate to use, click Settings.
Compose your message and then send it.