Opening an Encrypted Email

To ensure the confidentiality of personally identifiable information, some emails sent outside the county network are secured via encryption.

Opening an encrypted email requires a few additional steps.

The email in the inbox will read:

“This is a secure message.

Click here by YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM PDT to read your message.

After that, open the attachment.”

As noted in the email, the secure message can be accessed by clicking the Click here link, if opened by the date noted in the email.  Otherwise, open the SecureMessageAtt.html attachment to access he secure message.

When using the Click here link, a new window will appear allowing you to register, or if you have already registered, you will be able to just log in.

When using the SecureMessageAtt.html attachment, a new window will appear with the following text: “Click to read message.  If you do not see a button or clicking the button yields no action, please click the link in the message.”  Click the Click to read message button.

Note: Some email and webmail clients display the Proofpoint Encryption secure message attachment inline – for example, Mozilla Thunderbird will do this. When you click the “Click to read message” link, you will see an error message. The solution is to first save the attachment to disk before opening it. 

If an account has previously been established, enter username and password into the required fields and proceed to the message. If this is the first time opening an encrypted message, registration is required.

The following information is required to register

1.     First Name: Your first name.

2.     Last Name: Your last name.

3.     Password:  The password must be:

• 8-20 characters long.
• At least one digit (0-9) is required.
• At least one symbol character is required.
• Both uppercase and lowercase characters are required.
• Your username may not appear in the password.

4.     Confirm Password: Re-enter the password.

Registration is now complete. Proceed to the message.