Mail certificate in Mac OS X 10.3?

June 28, 2004 8:05 PM

How do I PERMANENTLY install a mail certificate in MacOS X 10.3? (more inside...)

I have an IMAP mail account that requires a certificate in order to send mail through the server. The annoying part is that every time I quit mail.app, it apparently forgets that I accepted the certificate already, and the next time I try to send mail I have to re-install the certificate. Granted, it only takes a mouse click, but I'd rather not have to do it every time.... I've checked all the usual suspects (MacOSXHints, Google...) but haven't found a satisfactory answer.

posted by 40 Watt to computers & internet (5 answers total)

Oh god, I was just wrestling with this in Thunderbird osx. I have a mail server with a certificate on the host's domain, but not mine, so it asks me for verification every single time. I hope someone has a good answer for this one.
posted by Hackworth at 9:01 PM on June 28, 2004

Try searching Mac OS X help for "import certificate." In short, drag the certificate file onto Keychain Access.
posted by kindall at 9:25 PM on June 28, 2004

Kindall, I tried that already. Didn't seem to do anything. At least, I still have to click to install the fershlugginer certificate every time.

On preview, I just got an email from a good friend of mine who isn't a MeFi member and thus, can't post himself...but here's the gist of it:


Saw this:

http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/8317

Here is what you need to do:


cd /tmp/
curl -O [insert URL of certificate here]
cd ~/Library/Keychains/
cp /System/Library/Keychains/X509Anchors .
certtool i /tmp/CA.crt k=X509Anchors
sudo mv X509Anchors /System/Library/Keychains/.

...then restart your mail reader/web browser. You should be golden. This should also work with any certificate and any application, for all users. (The first two lines get the certificate. The rest install it.)

Customized from:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20030124064421978


I'll try it out and see how it goes.
posted by 40 Watt at 9:52 PM on June 28, 2004

well, that didn't seem to work. I got:

***Error getting keychain handle

grr.
posted by 40 Watt at 9:58 PM on June 28, 2004

whoops. OK, never mind. missed a step. That's what I get for poking around in ther Terminal after bedtime.

*sheepish grin*

OK, works like a charm. I'm goin' to bed.
posted by 40 Watt at 10:12 PM on June 28, 2004