On 12/26/25 4:38 AM, Michael wrote:
On Friday, 26 December 2025 02:17:20 Greenwich Mean Time Dale wrote:
On 12/25/25 9:39 AM, Eli Schwartz wrote:
Account Settings -> End-To-End Encryption
Select "Add Key" and import existing key (from file). What's the error
you get?
I get: ERROR! Failed to import file. That's it. I've tried different
things, including the steps Michael mentioned. Same error. I'm sure
I'm missing something. I'll keep beating at it.
Have you set a 'Master Password' on Thunderbird, or whatever they call it
these days?
When you export your private key, GnuPG will ask for a passphrase to encrypt
the file with. Thunderbird will then ask for the same passphrase to decrypt
it before importing it. The passphrase for the private key will be secured
with Thunderbird's master password and stored in Thunderbird's profile
directory. This is one of the criticisms on Mozilla's choice for RNP - the
Thunderbird master password is cryptographically weaker than GnuPG's
passphrase.
I followed these steps some years ago and it worked after some
experimentation. I'm sure the public keys needed armor file format, or
Thunderbird would not import them. I can't recall if the private key needed
to be in armored, or in binary format. You can try both and see what gives.
There's also an RNP log file you could look into for any detailed error
message and there's an RNP CLI to run some basic commands - but you'll have to
search the interwebs for the details.
I may just wait until I need the thing. I'd like to be able to sign my
messages and such but I'm kinda getting bored with all the trouble it is
to have encrypted emails. Either I want to use a hammer or just give it
a rest. At least until I feel better. That hammer is looking good
right now. I just built this rig. :/
I'm also looking into converting the email format. Convert from mbox to
maildir. I've read some possibly old articles that maildir isn't stable
or has some other issues.
It's the other way around. Mbox is a single large file, where all your
messages are stored. Every time you read or fetch a message this file has to
be accessed, locked, edited, saved, unlocked. With Maildir, each message is
stored in a separate file. The probability of Mbox becoming corrupted and
causing loss of ALL your messages is proportionately larger than Maildir,
where you could lose a single message when something goes wrong.
That's my thinking. That's why I thought the article I was reading was
most likely a old one. I just wanted to be sure that maildir is ready
for prime time if you will. Now I know it is.
I wish people would date what they write so
we know when something is outdated. Anyway, is there any problems with
switching to maildir? I found a tool to do it. A little harder for
pop3 but doable. Plus, it copies to a new directory so no loss if it
fails.
POP3 is a legacy protocol, at the time when Internet/network connectivity was
intermittent (think dialup) and messages were received by your mail server,
but fetched and stored locally in your single PC. Storage was expensive, so
messages were fetched and deleted from the server, but if desired some of them
could be kept longer on the client, or printed in hard copy for ... archiving!
The IMAP4 protocol has taken over from POP3 for many decades now. The
messages are stored and organised into folders on the mail server. More than
one client device can be used to access the server and synchronise their local
storage of messages and folder layout with the server - bidirectionally.
Messages can be downloaded and stored locally, but they don't have to be.
With Internet connectivity always-on, the client can access a message on the
server on demand - if so configured.
Unless you have some unspecified reason to persist with POP3, e.g. email
provider limitations on message storage, it should be time to move on to IMAP4
(and Maildir). Just make sure both server and client are set up to use the
same protocol.
I kind of like having my emails local. That way if my internet isn't
working, I may can find a clue in a old email on this list. I try to
keep emails on this list for a few years or so. Usually by that time,
either systems have changed, or software, that makes them kinda old
news, like the maildir info. That's why I like pop3, I have a local copy.
I might add, my cell phone backs up stuff to the same account and takes
up some of my space there. I try to keep the emails stored on the
server to a smaller amount, 90 days or something like that.
Oh, one added improvement. It auto fetches emails now. Seamonkey
stopped doing that ages ago. Now, it fetches new emails without me
having to hit the button manually. See, it's different, gonna take some
time to get used to but there is positive points to this switch.
From where I'm seated I can only see positive points to switching from poorly
maintained, out-of-date client software and legacy protocols, to a fully
functioning modern email system. ;-)
It is getting better as I use it. When I get to feeling better, I'm
going to work on opening links in Firefox. That's the next thing.
I just hope I don't have to switch again anytime soon. That said, it
wasn't to bad, once I found the right tool to import my old emails,
filters etc etc.
Dale
:-) :-)
