Read emails using Virtru (encrypted email)

[happy5]

Hello,

I have recently begun using Virtru, a web service to encrypt emails. It works with Gmail, Yahoo, and the Chrome browser.

When reading the message through Aquamail, the message never actually loads. In fact the screen just loads and eventually the program hangs. Please note the message itself is not encrypted, it just provides a link that takes you to a another webpage.

Is there something specific about this service? Do I need to install another program or service so Aquamail can work properly with this?

If you want me to send a logcat, let me know what you specifically need.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[StR]

I have recently begun using Virtru, a web service to encrypt emails. It works with Gmail, Yahoo, and the Chrome browser.

When reading the message through Aquamail, the message never actually loads. In fact the screen just loads and eventually the program hangs. Please note the message itself is not encrypted, it just provides a link that takes you to a another webpage.

Is there something specific about this service? Do I need to install another program or service so Aquamail can work properly with this?

I had time only to glance quickly over what Virtru does, - and I might not understand all the details correctly yet. But I suspect you are confused: you are mixing up capabilities of a Web-Browser with a special pluging from Virtru installed (which does the pulling and processing of the message from their server), - and an e-mail client (Aquamail).

If I understand correctly how it works, - NONE of the current non-Virtru mail clients (not the web-interfaces) would be able to read your Virtru messages. From what I can tell, that's how Virtru is designed to work, and it doesn't provide an API for standard e-mail clients to work with.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

They have their own Android app -- and I'm not clear how if at all their messaging is supposed to interoperate with other email apps.

Never heard of them until now, either.

@happy5 -- please send me a test message to kmansoft / gmail. Thanks.

[happy5]

Test email message sent per your specifications (without any attachments).

I have submitted a ticket to their company for clarification.

And yes, I think both of you are right - these messages may need to be opened in a web browser, not an email client, in order for the service to work appropriately. From  a browser is not a problem. I'll mostly be using it to send protected messages to my patients and want to try a service for secure email communication.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

I sent you back a test version with a fix, same day.

The fix is also present here:

http://www.aqua-mail.com/forum/index.php?topic=4850.0

In short -- they put your encrypted message data "inside" the regular mail message, and the way they do it is... Well, let's just say it was making the "automatic URL / email / phone number highlighting" run so slow, it was essentially dying.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Oh and if you're going to talk to them again -- they may want to break up their encrypted data (what they put inside the <pre> tags) into separate lines.

Right now it's a single string of characters and digits, with no spaces, no line breaks, no tabs, nothing.

Just one very very very long "word".

Adding line breaks or spaces would not harm their ability to reconstruct and decrypt the data -- but might help other apps that implement the auto-highlighting of emails / links / phone numbers.

[happy5]

The test version works great, thanks!

I'll get back to them on this. Still exploring other services...we'll see how good they are if they fix this quickly.

[StR]

In short -- they put your encrypted message data "inside" the regular mail message, and the way they do it is...

Oh and if you're going to talk to them again -- they may want to break up their encrypted data (what they put inside the <pre> tags) into separate lines.

Kostya,
I had figured out that they put something inside <pre> from yesterday's version description.
So, now I am curious (sorry, I hope it won't be a big distraction): so, that encrypted part, - how does it get decrypted? I guessed that it'd be done via a link that is serviced by a browser. Or do they do it in a different way?

[Kostya Vasilyev]

I don't work there

I believe the link takes you to a page where they pull up the encrypted content from their own storage and decrypt in the web browser.

The encrypted content in the message then must be for their Android app, so it can work even if there is no Internet access at the time when you open a message.

If you can forward my suggestion about formatting that encrypted data (adding spaces or line breaks) it would be great.

[StR]

Thank you, Kostya. That's what I expected...