In other words: Our electronic messages are not (any longer) protected. In addition to phishing, there are several other methods used by hackers to obtain confidential data such as passwords, credit card data, and access to company-internal cloud storage systems.

One option to solve that problem is an electronic email signature. It’s about a letter seal: The electronic signature means that the recipient can see who the email’s sender is and whether the content arrives precisely as it was sent. Therefore, the electronic signature is not to be confused with the usual email signature, which can usually be seen under the written text in business email communication and lists the sender’s contact information.

The Digital Signature: What Is It?

Is the sender really who he says he is? Can it be ruled out that the content of the email message was stopped and manipulated on the way from the sender to me as the recipient? With the help of an electronic signature, only emails should end up in the inbox for which the answer to all these questions is “yes”.

From a technical point of view, the electronic signature, also known as a digital signature, is a certificate sent together with a regular email. With the help of the certificate, on the one hand, the sender’s identification can be undisputedly checked, and on the other hand, the recipient can be sure that the text has remained untouched on the way.

Sign Emails Electronically: Here’s How

If you want to sign an email electronically, there are two established options: S/MIME and OpenPGP. The procedures operate according to the same principle – based on hash values ​​paired with a public-private necessary procedure – but use different data formats. The decisive factor when choosing a method is the support provided by your mail client because many software solutions support either one or the other method, but not both at the same time.

A digital signature is a type of asymmetric encryption. The sender of an email also sends two keys – one private and one public. The key pair must be certified by an official certification authority. If an email is sent, this happens: Using a hash function, the content is provided with a checksum, which is encrypted again with the private key and attached to the email. The checksum is decrypted using the key and recalculated when the mail arrives at the recipient. If the newly calculated checksum matches the encrypted checksum sent, you can ensure that the text has remained untouched. And the public key? For example, this can also be sent with the email message, or it must be obtained from the recipient via a publicly accessible directory.

Secure Your Emails With Company-Wide Signatures

Some mail clients offer corresponding configurations for electronic signatures, which – once established – do all this automatically in the background. However, anyone speculating about the company-wide use of a digital signature should also consider signing using a gateway that signs all outgoing emails centrally. Otherwise, the effort is extremely high since an authentic attestation is required for each employee and must be entered in the mail program. In addition to the simplified configuration and the central administration, the benefit of a gateway is that the signature of incoming mails is checked before they even land on the mail server and can cause damage here.

But be careful: Although gateway certificates, usually for all email addresses under a domain, are standardized worldwide, some mail clients cannot (yet?) process them correctly and trigger error messages in the recipient. On the other hand, it could make more sense only to certify specific team mailboxes such as accounting@ or application@ – especially the mailboxes that work with confidential data.

Encrypt & Sign Emails: For Secure Email Traffic

Email encryption and the digital signature are two different things – but both are important. As I said, the signature is like a seal on a letter – it is guaranteed that nobody has changed the text along the way. At the same time, the electronic signature ensures that the sender is who he claims to be.

Nevertheless, in theory, the content of the letter is understandable in the way of several – for example, if you hold the sealed letter up to the light. Intending to prevent this, advanced encryption makes sense. This ensures that the letter is put into an opaque envelope so that no one can read the content except the sender and the recipient.

Where Are Electronic Signatures Used?

Initially, the electronic signature was mainly used in public administration and less in the private sector. Thanks to a growing spread in e-commerce, however, the topic is becoming more and more accessible to a large number of people and is gaining in presence and awareness. More and more companies are already using electronic signatures for individual use cases, such as when contracts are signed and sent electronically.

Also Read: Several Tips for Employers, Employees and Bank Holidays

The post What Is The Purpose of Electronically Signing An Email? appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.

I often use the electronic, more precisely digitized signature, which has been available within the ” markup ” function for several years. Still, with the arrival of macOS, Monterey got an advantageous position that significantly improved and refined the whole process of adding a signature. Before I get to how to do it – it is essential to know that it is not qualified, resp. A verified electronic signature is applied to employ an identity card with a chip. This is a standard digitized signature that you can use to sign various documents, invoices, etc., without using a printer, scanner, etc.

Almost everyone knows a situation where someone electronically sends you a document for signature, and you have to print, sign, scan and send it back. This is not an ideal solution as it is lengthy and inefficient. Using an electronic signature within macOS will save a lot of time and do not need any external device or application, etc. MacOS itself offers everything in a straightforward and precise form.

As I mentioned, you can create an electronic signature as part of the native markup function, which belongs to the native extensions section. You can use it in XY ways – from cropping images through adding various tags, texts, and so on. It is applicable in a wide range of documents, but also photographs.

The extension icon – markers – is drawn as the tip of a pen in a circle and appears in the center or upper right corner of the document/photo in the preview and when you open the file. I use the most common preview, which is faster ( by clicking on the space bar ), as I don’t have to open the file directly, but I immediately edit it as needed. If you do not see the brand function icon, you do not have this extension active – you need to check it in the system settings – extension item and enable it wherever possible.

Also Read: What Is a Chromebook, And How Is it Different From Others?

How To Create And Use An Electronic Signature?

The key is to preview a document or open it directly and click on the tag icon to enter edit mode. In this case, we are only interested in the signature, so you need to click on the corresponding item – the fifth from the left – and then click on the “create signature” section. For many years, the signature was added to create it by writing, resp. Signing up on a trackpad, which is accurate, wasn’t entirely ideal.

However, with the advent of macOS, Monterey came to a new feature – to add a signature using a FaceTime camera. This novelty, resp. I didn’t believe in the accuracy of scanning through the camera, but after adding a new signature, I was very pleasantly surprised. I used a MacBook Pro from 2015, so no new machine with a better camera. The procedure is simple – you sign on clean white paper, and in perfect light, you point this signature paper at the camera so that the signature crosses the blue line ( see picture ).

The system captures this signature and digitizes it into a final form almost identical to what is on the paper. Of course, it depends on the style of the signature, but in principle, it works very accurately and reliably. Good light and white paper are essential. If you are satisfied with the result, you will save the signature and use it whenever necessary. I didn’t have a problem with any digitizations during the exam. It works precisely.

The signature is inserted into the document. If you have already added it, it remains stored in the system with synchronization across all devices under the same Apple ID. You will immediately see the created and saved signature in the list of your signatures, and you can insert it into the document – click on it, move it to the required place and resize it so that it looks excellent and trustworthy. Done, that’s all. From now on, you don’t have to print anything and then scan – just put the created signature in any document and send it on. Great feature!

It is essential to know that you can use the signature created in this way on any of your devices, e.g. on the iPhone and quickly respond to any emergencies, etc. A new signature can also be made on the iPhone, but other times – if you’re interested, let us know below in the comments.

The post Digitized Signature In MacOS – How To Create And Use It? appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.