The first step in using S/MIME is to get a digital certificate or digital identification. A digital identification is a public/private key pair, a name, and a certificate that attests to the validity of the public key for this name. At Digi-Sign we refer to this complete package as a Digi-ID™.
For security reasons, you must follow the online instructions carefully. Do exactly as instructed and ensure all operations are carried out from the same computer for each user.
Domino R5 handles MIME (and therefore S/MIME) message content natively. There is nothing you have to do to enable S/MIME messages to pass through a Domino server.
If you are using all-Microsoft software and acquire a Digi-ID™ on that computer, your private key and public key certificate are automatically installed correctly. They become integrated with Internet Explorer and Outlook/Outlook Express and are automatically saved to the Microsoft Certificate Store. After acquiring the Digi-ID™, you can easily see it:
To use your Digi-ID™, just press the buttons for Sign (authenticate), or Encrypt (secret), or both, when composing an e-mail message. When you receive a signed message, you will see a symbol indicating this, near where the paperclip appears for attachments.
If you are using Netscape Messenger, Groupwise, or other e-mail software, the details for installing and using the Digi-ID™ may vary, but the general principles are the same. Visit Digi-Sign Support and look for the instructions Digi-ID™ / Digi-Mail™ Help.