Troubleshooting Sending/Receiving Email after Installing PGP Encryption Desktop (Symantec Encryption Desktop)
Article ID: 153166
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Issue/Introduction
This article offers tips for troubleshooting mail flow problems encountered as a result of installing PGP Encryption Desktop (Symantec Encryption Desktop). Although the specific steps in the article apply to users running Outlook, the concepts can be applied to any platform.
PGP Encryption Desktop is designed to encrypt and sign, decrypt and verify emails. If you have another mail client that handles email encryption and decryption for SMIME, PGP also does this, so you may need to reach out to Symantec Encryption Support to disable this specifically so you can have PGP Email Encryption working, but have SMIME handled by the other application.
Resolution
Before Installing
There are a few preventative measures that should be taken before installing PGP Desktop:
- It's a good idea to add any exclusions to security software so the PGP Desktop client can run unfettered. For more information on this, see the following article:
200696 - Symantec Encryption Services - Add Symantec Encryption programs to safe list or exclusions in security software - Ensure that any firewall settings allow for PGP access. This includes PGPtray.exe and PGPserv.exe.
- It's a good idea to consult the Release Notes and System Requirements to ensure is good to go.
- It's also a good idea to read the Best Practices document.
- Install the most recent available version of PGP Desktop. For more information on how to download, see the following article:
193931 - How to download Symantec Encryption products from the Broadcom download Portal (And where to find the license number for PGP)
Follow the steps below if you are not able to send or receive mail after installing PGP Desktop:
Disable the PGP Email Proxy and ensure that Email Works
- Close your email client application (e.g. Outlook)
- Click the PGP Desktop Tray icon
- Uncheck Use PGP Email Proxy by clicking beside it
- Open your email application and send yourself an email message
- If you aren't able to send or receive your own email message then verify that your client settings are correct and if so, contact Symantec Encryption Support.
- If you received your own message, then proceed to check the email application settings as described below.
Check the Email Application Settings without the PGP Email Proxy
- Open Microsoft Outlook.
- From the Outlook menu bar, click Tools and then E-mail Accounts
- Click the "View or change existing e-mail accounts button" and then click Next.
- Click on the account you are troubleshooting and click Change.
- Click More Settings
- If the account is IMAP or POP, in the Advanced tab, make note of the Server and Server Port Numbers. Uncheck This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL). (PGP Desktop will do this for you.)
- Click the Outgoing Server tab. Make sure that My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication is checked.
Delete the existing PGP Messaging Service and Allow a New Service to be Auto-generated.
This is assuming that the auto-detect mail account option is enabled:
- Click on the PGP Desktop Tray icon.
- Click Options
- Ensure there is a check in the Discover new accounts checkbox
Now remove the existing PGP Message service:
- Close Outlook (or your email application)
- Open PGP Desktop by clicking on the PGP Desktop Tray Icon and then selecting Open PGP Desktop
- Under PGP Messaging in the left panel, right click on the email account your are debugging and select Delete Service
- Click on the PGP Desktop Tray icon and select Options then select Messaging tab and then Proxy Options ensure it is set to Automatic.
- Open Outlook (or your email application)
- Send yourself a test message. If the message is not received or encrypted, proceed with verification of the PGP Messaging Account settings.
Verify the Settings for the PGP Messaging Account
- Open PGP Desktop by clicking on the PGP Desktop Tray icon and selecting Open PGP Desktop
- Under PGP Messaging in the left panel, click on the account you are troubleshooting. If no account exists, you can right click and create a new service. Fill in all the appropriate fields and continue to 3 to verify some important settings.
- In the main window under Account Properties, verify the following settings:
A. Click on the server listed beside Server.
B. Verify that the server and server port settings match those found from Step #6 under the Email Applications Settings listed above. Ignore SSL/TLS with this server should be unchecked.
- Under Default Key make sure that a key is selected.
Check the PGP Messaging Log
The PGP Messaging Logs may contain useful information about what is happening to your email. To view the logs:
- Open PGP Desktop by clicking the PGP Desktop Tray Icon, and then selecting Open PGP Desktop
- In the left panel under PGP Messaging, click Messaging Log
- In the main window beside View Level, click the arrow to access the pull down menu and select Verbose
- Now you can read the log to try and identify your problem.
If you do not need to use Email Functionality, but would like to install with all Email functionality disabled, see the following article and look at Scenario 4:
171110 - Disabling Encryption Desktop functionality using msiexec switches
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