iChat Encryption post 10.4.3

If you enable iChat encryption, .Mac will generate a Certificate and key with your .Mac name and store it in your keychain. This is used to encrypt iChat text and video and works well. You can also use your .Mac certificate to sign and encrypt email. To do this Open Keychain Access, check that your .Mac certificate is there, then go to the preferences and check "Search .Mac for Certificates". You can then start Apple Mail, use your .Mac email account, and you will see icons on the right above the message window to toggle on/off encrypting and digital signing of email. Remember, to encrypt email to another person you must have their certificate in your keychain.

If you enable iChat encryption, .Mac will generate a Certificate and key with your .Mac name and store it in your keychain. This is used to encrypt iChat text and video and works well. You can also use your .Mac certificate to sign and encrypt email. To do this Open Keychain Access, check that your .Mac certificate is there, then go to the preferences and check "Search .Mac for Certificates". You can then start Apple Mail, use your .Mac email account, and you will see icons on the right above the message window to toggle on/off encrypting and digital signing of email. Remember, to encrypt email to another person you must have their certificate in your keychain.

Any chance that the .Mac-based chats are using a Jabber server, and thus that JABBER-BASED chats can now all be transparently encrypted? That would be cool. ;)

A couple of comments... First, remember encryption requires that both AIM users have paid .Mac accounts. If you one of the chat members has a plain AIM account, this is what can happen. If both AIM users have paid .Mac accounts, it would be great if you could head over to the Apple Discussions Boards and post more information. That way we can better follow up and help figure out what is going on. As for encrypted video chats, you need to make sure that your Buddy is in your Buddy list for any encrypted video chats to work. Garrett.

Hi, if you need safe chat, I would recommend the Adium X multiprotocol chat client that includes iChat compatability.

Works for me... but I had to enable encryption and then restart iChat in order to get it to work.

and I should add -- it's harmless. It's just a warning to users that their chat is not secure. --Sam

sounds like they used someone else's encryption code. Zonelabs' IM Secure does this also.

I find when I look in iChat's Help that when you click on the link for What's New then scroll down to the paragraph on the encryption feature, clicking on the Encryption link gives you an error "TopicListNoResults"

Zach, yes. That's what it says, but if that's the case, it shouldn't interfere with other non-.Mac chats like it did.