Secure emails with an additional password

This guide offers a solution for users wishing to increase the security level of their email, on a particularly weak point if you use an email software/client to check your emails.

All passwords are stored

When you use the Infomaniak online interface mail.infomaniak.com to view and send your emails, it is accessible via your Infomaniak account on which two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled.

Indeed, all the passwords for each of the email addresses you have attached to mail.infomaniak.com are stored, and you will not need to enter them each time you want to check your messages.

But before that, you provide 3 pieces of information:

1. your login ID
2. the password for this login ID
3. you then validate your access request using one of the additional available methods

In all logic, a person in possession of your Infomaniak password will therefore not be able to access your mailbox if they do not also have access to your mobile device.

Case of an email software/client

Two-factor authentication (2FA described above) does not exist directly with email retrieval protocols of the IMAP type. An email address has a password, and that's it.

Therefore, an email client installed on a computer will also store all the passwords for each of the attached email addresses, but will not ask for a login password.

There is a solution with Mozilla Thundebird:

1. Open the email client software.
2. At the top right, click on the menu button with three horizontal lines ☰ .
3. Click on Preferences (and not on Account Settings):
   
4. Click on Privacy and security in the left-hand menu.
5. Scroll down to the Passwords section (all your stored email passwords are here).
6. Check the box Use a master password:
   
7. Click on the button in the same place to set your new password for opening the software/client of the email:
   

To finish:

• Close and then restart Thunderbird.
• Upon reopening, enter your master password.
• If you enter the password correctly, you will have access to your accounts.
• In case of failure, Thunderbird will still open, but it will ask for the master password again.

This method especially protects you if you share your environment with other users.

Also, familiarize yourself with fingerprint security for checking emails on the mobile app Infomaniak Mail.