Encrypting Data with Guard

key management

Managing own S/MIME keys

On the Guard security settings page, you can:

How to use the S/MIME key management functions:

  1. Click the Settings icon in the menu bar. Click on All settings.

    You can also click on Settings in the App Launcher.

    The Settings window opens.

  2. Click on Guard in the left pane.

    The Guard security settings page will be displayed.

  3. Activate Enable S/MIME.

    Enable Show advanced settings.

    The key management functions will be displayed.

How to add a new S/MIME key:

  1. Click on Your keys below Keys. The Select type of keys to change window opens.

    Select S/MIME. The Your Certificates window opens.

  2. Click the Add icon next to Your Key List. The Upload S/MIME Keys window opens.

  3. Enter the following passwords:

    • To upload the new key, enter your Guard security password. Enter a new password for the new key.

    • A new password for encrypting emails.

      Confirm the new password.

    Click on OK. Select a file with a valid S/MIME certificate.

    The new key will be entered on top of your key list. The new key becomes the current key.

How to display your own S/MIME keys or make a S/MIME key the current one:

  1. Click on Your keys below Keys. The Select type of keys to change window opens.

    Select S/MIME.

    The Your Certificates window opens. Your S/MIME keys will be displayed.

  2. If your key list contains more than one key, you can define the current key. To do so, enable the Current checkbox next to the main key. From now on, the current key will be used for encryption.

  3. To display details for a key, click the Details icon next to a key. The Key Details window opens. To view the key's signatures, click on Signatures.

How to download a key in the Your Keys window:

  1. Click the Download icon next to a key.

  2. Define whether to download your private key only, your public key only or both keys.

    Caution: Your private key will be downloaded in encrypted form. You should not download your private key to a publicly accessible system, though.

How to delete a key in the Your Keys window:

Warning: If you delete a private key, you can no longer decrypt objects that have been encrypted with this key. If you are unsure, you should not delete the key but revoke it. A revoked key can no longer be used for encryption. But you can still decrypt objects that have been encrypted with this key.

  1. Click the Delete icon next to a key. The Delete Private Key window opens.

  2. You have the following options:

    • To revoke a private key, click on Revoke.

      if you revoke a key, it will no longer be used. But you can still decrypt objects that have been encrypted with this key. For this reason, revoking a key is better than deleting it.

      Enter the password for the private key. If required, select a reason for revoking the key.

      Click on Revoke.

    • In order to delete a private key, click on Delete.

      Warning: If you delete a private key, you can no longer decrypt objects that have been encrypted with this key.

      Enter the password for the private key.

      Click the Delete button.

Related topics:

Parent topic: key management