[GH-ISSUE #273] My email client has a fit when receiving encrypted mail from aliases #233

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opened 2026-03-01 17:45:54 +03:00 by kerem · 8 comments
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Originally created by @CaptainFrosty on GitHub (Feb 26, 2022).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy/issues/273

That's the only way I know how to describe it. I had to turn encryption off. Only the header will load on the screen and it blinks very fast. When I get a chance I'll try sending one with the debug logs on and see if I can uncover anything.

I'm using eM Client on Windows. The key is stored in it.

Originally created by @CaptainFrosty on GitHub (Feb 26, 2022). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy/issues/273 That's the only way I know how to describe it. I had to turn encryption off. Only the header will load on the screen and it blinks very fast. When I get a chance I'll try sending one with the debug logs on and see if I can uncover anything. I'm using eM Client on Windows. The key is stored in it.
kerem closed this issue 2026-03-01 17:45:54 +03:00
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@willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Mar 3, 2022):

Are you sure this isn't just an issue with eM Client?

Have you tested sending an encrypted message not through AnonAddy to see if the result is the same?

<!-- gh-comment-id:1058240275 --> @willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Mar 3, 2022): Are you sure this isn't just an issue with eM Client? Have you tested sending an encrypted message not through AnonAddy to see if the result is the same?
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@willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2022):

Closing this as I don't think it's related to AnonAddy.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1066065787 --> @willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2022): Closing this as I don't think it's related to AnonAddy.
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@CaptainFrosty commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2022):

@willbrowningme The blinking stopped thankfully when I updated it. Probably a database issue; this client seems prone to them. The pgp is working normally now, so that's good. I do get this message:

image

But it doesn't seem to affect anything.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1066150017 --> @CaptainFrosty commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2022): @willbrowningme The blinking stopped thankfully when I updated it. Probably a database issue; this client seems prone to them. The pgp is working normally now, so that's good. I do get this message: ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/8523498/158072364-16cdca7f-e739-4b2a-aec2-552ee5ba4753.png) But it doesn't seem to affect anything.
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@CaptainFrosty commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2022):

And no, it doesn't happen on messages outside of the server, I made sure of that. Odd that the message itself checks out fine...it's only the signature.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1066151055 --> @CaptainFrosty commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2022): And no, it doesn't happen on messages outside of the server, I made sure of that. Odd that the message itself checks out fine...it's only the signature.
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@willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2022):

Glad you sorted it. Don't worry about the cerificate signature warning, it's a known issue - https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy/issues/164

It's because the signing key has identity mailer@anonaddy.me which doesn't exactly match the identity of the alias xyz@anonaddy.me etc.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1066175233 --> @willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Mar 13, 2022): Glad you sorted it. Don't worry about the cerificate signature warning, it's a known issue - https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy/issues/164 It's because the signing key has identity `mailer@anonaddy.me` which doesn't exactly match the identity of the alias xyz@anonaddy.me etc.
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@CaptainFrosty commented on GitHub (Mar 31, 2022):

@willbrowningme I see. So unfortunately everyone I send encrypted emails to will see a certificate error? That's not good. It seems like there should be a way to generate keys that share a public key with the signing identity or something like that. Or perhaps I could make another key with that identity?

<!-- gh-comment-id:1085106062 --> @CaptainFrosty commented on GitHub (Mar 31, 2022): @willbrowningme I see. So unfortunately everyone I send encrypted emails to will see a certificate error? That's not good. It seems like there should be a way to generate keys that share a public key with the signing identity or something like that. Or perhaps I could make another key with that identity?
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@willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Apr 1, 2022):

The signature identity mismatch warning is only present on forwarded messages so nobody else will see this.

If you want to send an encrypted email to someone from an AnonAddy alias then you need to encrypt it with their public key and send it as you normally would.

You don't want to sign it with your real email's private key because this would reveal your real email to them. So you can either not sign the message at all, or create a private key for that exact alias and sign it with that, so the identities match.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1085570368 --> @willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Apr 1, 2022): The signature identity mismatch warning is only present on forwarded messages so nobody else will see this. If you want to send an encrypted email to someone from an AnonAddy alias then you need to encrypt it with their public key and send it as you normally would. You don't want to sign it with your real email's private key because this would reveal your real email to them. So you can either not sign the message at all, or create a private key for that exact alias and sign it with that, so the identities match.
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@CaptainFrosty commented on GitHub (Apr 4, 2022):

@willbrowningme That's what I was thinking, to create a few aliases exclusively for pgp and generate keys for those. It's kind of a pain that pgp uses email addresses for identity purposes rather than some other mechanism, but that's what keeps it decentralized I guess. My client supports aliases, so maybe I can get rid of the warning by setting a policy for the alias.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1087887528 --> @CaptainFrosty commented on GitHub (Apr 4, 2022): @willbrowningme That's what I was thinking, to create a few aliases exclusively for pgp and generate keys for those. It's kind of a pain that pgp uses email addresses for identity purposes rather than some other mechanism, but that's what keeps it decentralized I guess. My client supports aliases, so maybe I can get rid of the warning by setting a policy for the alias.
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