At Mailfence – a secure and private email suite, we are very pleased to announce the BETA launch of our end-to-end encrypted mail solution which is based on OpenPGP. Our encryption solution is the result of more than two years work by our dedicated team.
Why did we develop this service?
At ContactOffice we have always believed that users have an absolute and irrevocable right to Internet privacy. That is why we have never commercialized our user databases. During more than 15 years of business, users have always been spared advertising and have never been tracked or profiled. Following Snowden’s revelations in the summer of 2013, about massive government surveillance of Internet users, it became clear that users privacy on the Internet was seriously threatened. This was unacceptable to us.
First interoperable end-to-end encryption services that gives you full control
We understood that users need a service which is fully dedicated to email privacy. We double-checked every line of code, hardened our servers and worked relentlessly to find a SSL certificate which does not have a US company involved in the certification chain (not that easy to find).
We made it our mission to develop a user-friendly, highly trustable (based on open-source libraries) and completely interoperable encryption solution which anyone can use with other similar open-standard based solutions.
As a result, we have developed and launched the simplest, interoperable end-to-end encrypted mail solution on the market, which allows all users (not just techies) to reclaim their online privacy.
What features can you expect?
The mail encryption technology is seamlessly integrated into the collaborative messaging application. Through Mailfence, users can generate and manage their crypto keys online, send encrypted emails, digitally sign and decrypt emails, and much more. Our encryption technology is based on what is known as public-private key encryption using OpenPGP standard in order to be interoperable with other solutions.
How does public-private key encryption work?
All codes are a bit like padlocks. You “lock” your message, the message travels to its destination, and then the recipient “unlocks” it and reads it. The basic idea is simple. Each user has two keys, one is called a ‘public key’ and the other a ‘private key’. Each “key” is actually a long string of alphanumeric characters rather than a real, metal key. You can share the ‘public key’ with anyone but the ‘private key’ remains secret. Lets suppose that you need to send a message to a friend using public key cryptography. You would use their ‘public key’ (the one they have shared with the world) to encrypt the message. Then you would email the scrambled message to them over the Internet. When they receive it they will use their ‘private key’ to decrypt (unscramble) and read it. In short, public-key cryptography means that anyone can encrypt a message and send it to you (using your ‘public key’), but only you can read it (using your ‘private key’).
We give you full control: the main features our end-to-end encryption solution
Generate and manage your crypto keys: you can generate your private key (protected by your passphrase) and a public key, both of which are mathematically connected to enable encryption. You can also import an already existing private key and perform tons of other operations related to key management, for example export your private key, generate a revocation certificate, revoke your private key, or delete your private key.
Digitally sign your email: you can digitally sign your email by using your private key which authenticates your identity to the recipient/s of your mail, for either professional or personal purposes. The compatibility of Mailfence with other applications is enhanced by the fact that it supports OpenPGP (for both incoming and outgoing signed messages).
Digitally sign and encrypt your email: this is a unique feature. Our end-to-end encryption solution enables you to prove your identity AND to protect the confidentiality of your email. You control the privacy of all your mail communications. In addition, all your attachments will also be encrypted, so both your message and your attached documents are protected. Of course, you are also able to decrypt all encrypted emails sent to you and send any encrypted mail to multiple recipients as well.
- Learn what is a digitally signed email here!
A more detailed description of our end-to-end encryption solution :
- It offers an integrated key-management on the server
- Generate and manage multiple key-pairs.
- Export and/or import your key-pairs.
- Generate your revocation certificate or simply revoke your key-pair from with-in the application.
- Delete your key-pair.
- Download public keys from public servers directly from with-in the application.
- Export and/or import public keys of your contacts etc.
- It integrates digital signatures
- OpenPGP based (fully supported).
- Not just signing but also verification.
- Enhanced visibility of important key characteristics (e.g. fingerprint) to facilitate the manual process of identity verification.
- It offers interoperability
- Based on a decentralized model (the true essence of OpenPGP). You can use our encryption and digital signing solution to communicate with any other OpenPGP or PGP/MIME based solution.
- Import your externally generated key-pair and use it with the Mailfence application or export your internally generated key-pair and use it with any other OpenPGP supported platform.
- It is modern and simple
- Yes it’s possible! We have developed a simple end-to-end encryption solution without compromising the user-friendliness and the concepts of OpenPGP.
- Compatible with all devices (Mobile Phone, Tablet, etc).
- Bundled with tons of other features (2FA, Contacts, Calendar, Groups, Documents, etc). It is the most unique and complete solution in the market.
How do I get it?
If you agree with us that ‘PRIVACY IS A RIGHT AND NOT A FEATURE’, sign up for a free account on Mailfence.
How does it work?
- Login to your account.
- Go to Settings > Encryption and generate your key pair.
- Our key management functionality will help you to import the ‘public key’ of any mail recipient.
- Send a fully encrypted and digitally signed email.
A detailed ‘How To’ (user manual) can be found here.
Also, ‘How do we do it’ (a detailed insight) is also there to further leverage your understanding about Mailfence.
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We would love to get feedback from you! Let us know of any suggestions/wishes/problems that you might have in order to help us make the simplest end-to-end encryption service even better. Drop us an (encrypted) mail at: support at mailfence dot com (fingerprint : E71F013B920EA72A324C8DD944434547B7286901) or send a tweet to @mailfence or subscribe to our sub-reddit.
Learn more about Mailfence on our press page.
If you like our solution, please upvote us on https://www.producthunt.com/tech/mailfence
Follow us on twitter/reddit and keep yourself posted at all times.
– Mailfence Team
