nicca.nic.in Sending Digitally Signed Mail in Outlook Express : NIC Certifying Authority

Organization : NIC Certifying Authority
Facility : Sending Digitally Signed Mail in Outlook Express
Details Here : https://www.statusin.in/uploads/22468-Digitally-signed.pdf
Home Page : http://nicca.nic.in/

Sending Digitally Signed Mail :

You can use your Digital Certificate to digitally sign any S/MIME compliant email client. Digitally signing the mail authenticates your identity and enables the receiver to ensure that the mail has come from you only.

Related : NIC e-Service on Registration, De-registration of Digital Signature Certificate : www.statusin.in/22466.html

It also ensures that the content of the mail is not tampered in the transit and the mail received by the receiver is the same what you have sent.
1. Description :
This guide explains the procedure for using the NICCA issued digital certificate in Microsoft Outlook Express.

2. Outlook Express and Certificates :
If the sender has multiple mail accounts configured in his/her Outlook Express, the sender will need a separate certificate for each one because each certificate is tied to a unique email address. Outlook Express automatically selects the correct certificate based on the account the sender uses to send messages.

3. Enabling Security Settings for Mail Account :
Ensure that the required certificates are present in the IE browser certificate store.
1. Select Tools > Internet options
2. Click Content Tab
3. Click Certificate Button
4. Under Personal Certificates the account certificate must be present.

Following steps will enable signing and encrypting all the outgoing messages from the sender’s account :
1. Select Options from the Tools menu.
2. Select the Security tab of the Options dialog.
3. Check Digitally sign all outgoing messages so that it is turned on.
4. Click on OK to dismiss the Options dialog.

3.1 Downloading & Installing Chain Certificate :
Note : For Users having Internet Explorer 6 or 7 Please import the certificate chain using the following procedure.
Download chain.zip file from Repository tab on official website and Click on Certificate Chain (CCA & NICCA Certs)>Download>Download Certificate Chain (.zip format). Unzip chain.zip file and extract chain2.p7b from chain.zip file on Desktop.

3.2 Settings to Choose a Valid Digital Certificate :
1. Select your mails account and select Properties for that account for which the sender has obtained Digital Certificate.
2. Select the Security tab of the Properties dialog.

3. Click on the Signing Certificate – Select  button.
4. Select the certificate the sender wants to use from the Select Certificate dialog, then click on OK. The user’s mail account is now configured and ready for use in Outlook Express!

Configure your email-id (same as email-id in the DSC) in the Outlook Express, insert your smart card in the reader/ikey token in USB & select the Certificate from OE>Tools>Accounts>Mail>Properties>Security>Signing Certificate Select>OK

4. Sending & Receiving Signed Email In Outlook Express :
Incase the sender does not want to activate the option to sign and encrypt all outgoing messages but wants to sign certain outgoing messages, it is possible with Outlook Express.

The sender has the option of only signing the message to authenticate to the recipient the identity of the sender. Here the private key of the sender is used to sign the message and a copy of the digital certificate (containing the public key of sender) is send along with the message.

1. Create a new email by clicking on the New Mail button.
2. The New Message composition window will open.
3. Click on the Sign button in the menu bar or select the Digitally Sign item from the Tools menu as in the figure.

Note : While sending mails if the sender’s digital certificate does not exist, Outlook will warn that the message cannot be signed and prompt if the user wants to send an unsigned message instead.

1. Select Accounts… from the Tools menu.
2. Select the Mail tab of the Accounts dialog.