Outlook signatures что это
Обновлено: 07.07.2024
Last week we dwelled on different ways to send encrypted email in Outlook. Today, let's have a closer look at another technique to safeguard your email messages - Outlook digital signature.
A valid digital signature proves the authenticity of an email and demonstrates to the recipient that the message was created by a known sender and its content have not been altered in transit.
Further on in this article, you will learn how you can quickly send secure digitally signed messages in Outlook 2016, 2013 and 2010 and explorer a few other ways of email protection:
Send secure email in Outlook by using a digital signature
Digitally signing an email in Outlook is not the same as adding your text or graphical signature at the end of outgoing messages. An email message signature is simply your customized closing salutation that anyone can copy or mimic.
An Outlook digital signature is a different matter - it adds your unique digital mark to the message. By signing an email with a digital signature, you include your certificate and public key associated with your digital ID (signing certificate). In this way, you prove to the recipient that the message comes from a trusted sender and that its content is intact.
To be able to send secure Outlook emails using a digital signature, you need two basic things:
- Digital ID (email certificate). See where and how you can get a digital ID.
- Set up the signing certificate in Outlook. In the previous article, we also discussed how you can set up the encryption certificate in Outlook. To configure the signing certificate, you perform exactly the same steps with the only difference that you choose to add a Signing certificate instead of Encryption certificate.
Though, if your digital ID is valid both for email encryption and digital signing (and most of email certificates are), it does not really matter which option you choose, both certificates will get configured anyway.
How to sign a single Outlook email with a digital signature
With your digital signing certificate in place, proceed with the following steps.
In a message you are composing or replying to, go to the Options tab > Permission group and click the Sign button.
If you don't see the Sign button, then do as follows:
How to digitally sign all emails messages you send in Outlook
- In your Outlook, open the Trust Center dialog: go to the File tab > Options > Trust Center and click the Trust Center Settings button.
- Switch to the E-mail Security tab and select the Add digital signature to outgoing messages under Encrypted Mail.
- You can select one of the additional options, when applicable:
- Select Send clear text signed message when sending signed messages if you want the recipients that don't have S/MIME security to be able to read the messages you send. This check box is selected by default.
- Check Request S/MIME receipt for all S/MIME signed messages if you wish to verify that your digitally signed email message has been received unchanged by the intended recipients. When you select this option, the verification information will be sent to you in a separate message.
- If you have several signing certificates, you can choose a proper digital ID by clicking the Settings button.
- Click OK to close every open dialog box.
Other ways to send secure email in Outlook
Admittedly, email encryption and Outlook digital signature are the most common methods of sending secure emails in Outlook and other email clients. However, your choices are not limited to these two options and a few more email protection means are available to you:
Encrypting email connections with SSL or TLS
You can use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption to secure the connection between your email provider and your computer (mobile phone or other device). These encryption methods work similarly to the protection schemes that are used to secure online transactions and purchases.
In Microsoft Outlook, you can set up an encrypted connection in this way:
Which exactly encryption type to choose depends on the requirements of your e-mail provider. Usually they provide detailed instructions for configuring an encrypted connection, so hopefully you won't have any difficulties with this.
Sending password protected zip files
If you need to email some confidential information as a text document, Excel spreadsheet or other file, you can take an extra precaution against unauthorized access by zipping the file and protecting it with password.
How to compress / zip a file or folder
I believe everyone knows how to compress (or zip) files or folders in Windows. I will remind you the way just for the sake of completeness : )
In Windows Explorer, find the file or folder you want to compress, right-click on it and choose Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder from the context menu.
A new zipped folder will be created in the same location.
How to protect a compressed folder with password
If you still happen to be using Windows XP, you can protected the contents of a compressed folder with password using Windows' means. The procedure is very simple:
- Double-click the zipped folder you want to protect and click Add a Password on the File menu.
- Type the password in the Password box.
If you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8, you might be surprised to find out that these operating systems do not have such capability. Why Microsoft has removed the password protection feature that was used by many is a complete mystery to me. New versions of software are supposed to add new features and not the other way round, aren't they?
Anyway, if you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8, you can utilize some third-party archiving software with the password protection feature on board, e.g. 7-Zip - free open source file archiver.
I personally like the WinRar software better (you can see its dialog window in the screenshot below), but this is just a matter of preference.
With your important document compressed and password protected, you are ready to safely email it as attachment. Just don't forget to provide the password to your recipient in a separate email message, over Skype or phone.
If you are sending a highly confidential document and looking for the complete privacy, you can also encrypt the entire email message including attachments as described in How to send encrypted email in Outlook.
Create a signature for your email messages that you can add automatically to all outgoing messages or manually to specific ones.
Note: If the instructions don't match what you see, you might be using an older version of Outlook on the web. Try the Instructions for classic Outlook on the web.
Create an email signature
Under Email signature, type your signature and use the available formatting options to change its appearance.
Note: You can have only one signature per account.
If you want your signature to appear at the bottom of all new email messages that you compose, select the Automatically include my signature on new messages I compose check box.
If you want your signature to appear on messages that you forward or reply to, select the Automatically include my signature on messages I forward or reply to check box.
If you don’t select these options, you can manually add your signature to a selected message. For details, see Manually add your signature to a new message below.
Select Save when you're done.
Note: You can always return to the Compose and reply page and select or clear the check box for automatically including your signature.
Manually add your signature to a new message
If you've created a signature, but didn't choose to automatically add it to all outgoing messages, you can add it later when you write an email message.
Go to your mailbox and choose New message.
Type your message, and then choose > Insert signature at the bottom of the compose pane.
When your email message is ready, choose Send.
Instructions for classic Outlook on the web
Create an email signature
On the top nav bar, choose Settings > Mail, which opens the Options panel on the left.
In the Options panel, under Mail, choose Layout > Email signature.
In the text box, type your signature and use the available formatting options to change its appearance.
Note: Inserting an image file (in a .jpg or .jpg format for example) for your signature isn't supported, but you can copy an image from a webpage and paste it into the signature box.
If you want your signature to display at the bottom of all outgoing email messages, including replies and forwards, select the Automatically include my signature on new messages I compose check box.
If you don’t select this option, you can manually add your signature to a selected message. See the next section for more information.
Select Save when you're done.
Note: You can always return to the Email signature page and select or clear the Automatically include my signature on new messages I compose check box.
Manually add your signature to a new message
If you've created a signature, but didn't choose to automatically add it to all outgoing messages, you can add it later when you write an email message.
Go to your mailbox and choose to create a new email message.
Type your message, and then choose More > Insert signature on the toolbar.
Email signatures are common especially in business environments. These signatures usually give you information about the sender of the email, and it often contains their details such as their name, their position in the company, email address, and some other information. You can add your signature in your Outlook emails, too, if you want.
While we already have a guide on adding signatures to your emails, the interfaces that let you do it have changed since then. This guide covers the most recent versions of Outlook for various platforms to let you add a signature in Outlook for your computer.
Add a Signature In Outlook For Windows
If you’re a Windows user, chances are Outlook is your primary email client. It works extremely great on this platform and lets you manage multiple of your email accounts from within a single app.
Adding a signature to the Outlook for Windows is pretty easy. You can also create separate signatures for each of your email accounts.
- Launch the Outlook app on your PC.
- Click on the File tab at the top-left corner of your screen to open a menu.
- Click on Options from the left sidebar on your screen.
- On the following screen, click on Mail in the left sidebar to access your email settings.
- On the right-hand side pane, find the section that says Compose messages. Inside of this section, you’ll find a button labeled as Signatures. Click on it to open it.
- Click on New on the following screen to create a new signature in the app.
- It’ll ask you to enter a name for your signature. Do so and click on OK.
- Select your signature in the list and you’ll instantly be able to edit it in the box below.
Here, you can type your signature in plain text and then use the available formatting options to stylize it. You can also add images to your signature if you want.
In the Choose default signature section, select the email account that you want to use your new signature for. Select your signature from the New messages menu if you want each of your new emails to have the signature applied to it. You can also choose a signature that’ll be used for your email replies and forwards.
Add a Signature In Outlook For Mac
You can add a signature in Outlook for Mac as well but the option to do so is located in another menu than where it is in Windows. Other than that, it pretty much gives you the same number of options and features to add and format your signature in the app.
- Click on Launchpad in the Dock, search for Outlook, and open it.
- Click on the Outlook menu at the top and select Preferences.
- On the following screen, click on Signatures in the Email section. It’ll let you manage your email signatures.
- Click on the + (plus) sign in the Edit signature box to add a new signature to Outlook for Mac.
- It’ll instantly open a new window letting you type and format your signature. As you can see, there are options to style your signature the way you want.
- In the Choose default signature section, you can specify options like what email account to use the signature in, if you’d like to use it for your new emails, and also if it should be included in your replies and forwards.
Add a Signature In Outlook For Web
Unlike the desktop versions, Outlook for Web isn’t much cluttered with options here and there and it’s pretty easy to find the option to add your signature in the app. All you basically need to do is launch the app on the web, click on an option, and you’re all set.
- Head over to Outlook for Web and log-in to your account if you haven’t already.
- Click on the settings icon at the top-right corner and choose the View all Outlook settings option.
- On the following screen, click on Compose and reply from the options available on your screen.
- Soon as you do that, you’ll find a large white box on the right-hand side pane. That’s where you can add your signature.
Using Your Signature In Outlook
Unless you’ve chosen to include your signature in all of your outgoing emails, you’re going to have to manually add it to each of your new emails. It’s pretty easy to do though as the option to do so is easily accessible on the new email window.
- Launch Outlook and click on New Email to compose a new email.
- Ensure you’re inside the Message tab. Find the section titled as Include in the tab and click on Signature.
- The signature you created earlier should appear in the list. Click on it and it’ll instantly be added to your current email.
- If you want to use another signature, you can click on the Signatures option to do so.
Changing Your Signature In Outlook
If any of the details included in your signature changes, you want to make sure that your signature reflects that. Changing a signature in Outlook for any platform is totally possible to do and you can do it as below.
- In Outlook for Windows, click on New Email, select Signature, and click on Signatures. You can then select your signature and edit it.
- In Outlook for Mac, click on Outlook > Preferences > Signatures, choose your signature, and click on Edit.
- On the Outlook for Web version, click on the settings icon, select View all Outlook settings, choose Compose and reply, and you can edit your signature.
It’s a good idea to include a signature in your Outlook emails and let us know what you think about it in the comments below.
Mahesh has been obsessed with technology since he got his first gadget a decade or so ago. Over the last few years, he's written a number of tech articles on various online publications including but not limited to MakeTechEasier and Android AppStorm. Read Mahesh's Full Bio
В июне 2020 года Microsoft планирует добавить в Office 365 новую опцию — хранение пользовательских настроек почтовых подписей для настольных версий Outlook для Windows в облаке. Данное обновление будет доступно только пользователям сервиса на базе системы подписок Office 365 (Microsoft 365).
Многих пользователей обрадовала эта по сути простая доработка, которую сейчас делают разработчики из Microsoft. Так как скоро не нужно будет каждый раз после установки Outlook для Windows настраивать заново свои подписи вручную. Планируется, что эти настройки подтянутся из облачного сервиса после ввода электронной почты пользователя при развертывании на ПК нового офисного пакета.
Вдобавок новая опция позволит пользователям иметь под рукой всегда свою самую новую версию подписи для электронной почты на всех устройствах. Это также поможет избегать ситуаций, когда пользователи отправляют электронные письма с устаревшими или неправильными подписями с разных своих устройств, так как там они не были обновлены или были настроены некорректно. Поддержка централизованных версий подписей электронной почты на нескольких устройствах у пользователей была одной из самых ожидаемых функций для Outlook в последние годы.
Так, пользователь по имени Мэри Бранскомб заявила, что ждала эту опцию уже очень давно, а с 2013 года она просила напрямую команду разработчиков из Microsoft это реализовать:
Microsoft пояснила, что другие клиенты компании, которые, например, используют Outlook для iOS или Outlook для Android, получат такое это обновление немного позднее.
Ранее в начале мая 2020 года Microsoft добавила в Office 365 новую опцию — защиту от почтового шторма Reply All (Reply-All Storm Protection). Данное обновление уже начало распространяться среди корпоративных и других пользователей офисного сервиса по всему миру.
Вдобавок разработчики Microsoft планируют добавить в функцию Reply-All Storm Protection отчеты о шторме Reply All, а также уведомления для системных администраторов об этих инцидентах в режиме реального времени, чтобы они могли следить за состоянием почтового сервера на предмет возможных замедлений его работы или сбоев.
В начале апреля 2020 года Microsoft анонсировала скорое завершение процесса ребрединга и обновления компонентов сервиса на базе системы подписок Office 365. С 21 апреля 2020 года сервис будет называться Microsoft 365, а его пользователи получат много полезных дополнений, включая даже помощь ИИ при написании текстов, создании и проведении презентаций.
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