Yelläks /ˈyæl•eks/

In Icedove/Thunderbird of debian/unstable it is currently a little bit annoying that Enigmail cannot remember the passphrase. Whenever an encrypted mail is loaded, the user is asked for it. Once the mail is reloaded, the user is asked again. In previous versions the option to remember the passphrase worked without any problem (OpenPGP -> Preferences -> Passphrase settings). Changing the box “use gpg-agent for passphrases” (in “Advanced” setup) as mentioned in many forums, does not have any effect. Every time when the message is loaded the box without the option to remember the password shows up. Enigmail cannot be convinced not to use the gpg-agent (as it shows in the error message after the failed decryption).

Finally I found the solution: Enigmail always uses the gpg-agent, if

1. GnuPG version 2.0 or higher is detected
2. the environment variable GPG_AGENT_INFO is set
3. the option Use gpg-agent for passphrase handling is active

On my box GnuPG version 1.x.x is installed and not the GnuPG2 package, so the first item cannot be true. Nevertheless, the environment setting GPG_AGENT_INFO was set, although no gpg-agent was running. This setting was not set in the normal ttyX console, but in the gnome-terminal, where it pointed to a socket for Seamonkey. To figure out, if this is also your problem, you can try out the following:

1. Open the terminal. Check if this environment setting is active by typing “export | grep GPG”. If it shows an entry, it is activated.
2. To check, if it really affects Enigmail, type in “unset GPG_AGENT_INFO”. That will delete this setting temporarily.
3. After that type “thunderbird” or “icedove” into the terminal. If you start it by clicking on a icon, the “unset” command has no effect. Enigmail should display the passphrase dialog with the option to save the passphrase (if “Use-gpg-agent for passphrases” is deactivated and “Remember passphrase for XXXX minutes” is set).

What is Seamonkey then? Well, it is a gnome-integration so that the user is able to sign and encrypt files out of the file browser (called Nautilus). However it seems that it is built for GnuPG2 and depends on gpg-agent, although the package dependencies do not suggest that. Since I am using gpg only for mails and rarely for files (if so, I know the gpg command for the console), I purged Seamonkey which also freed more then 10MB on my harddisk. After restarting the X-server, the environment setting was gone and everything worked fine. There might be the option to tell Seamonkey not to use a gpg-agent. However since I purged it, all the configuration files are also gone and I do not want to reinstall the packaged to check those files. If you know a better solution, let me know.

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Story 1:
To lock up doors etc. and to keep things safe, it is naturally to use locks. The obvious purpose of locks is to make it hard for somebody to steal things out of a room or flick the owner’s bike/car. When I occupied my room in the students hostel, the hostel office provided a lock. In case that I loose my keys, I need to break this lock by myself which may result in a very exhausting work. Since this lock is not mine, but I would prefer to break my own lock and property, I bought a second lock in Yeshvanthpur, the village next to the IISc campus. The keys have a serial number with 5 digits, assuring the purchaser that many permutations exist.

After a while I visited a friend who has a lock from the same company. Although his serial number differs, he has exactly the same lock. I mean, lock and keys are exactly the same. So whenever I like, I could go to his room and he to mine. So what does the serial number mean? Is it serial at all?

Story 2:
I borrowed a bike from a friend of mine. Since he is currently out of campus for several months, I am using it. One day a friend called me in office and asked, if he can have to bike for the next hour or so, what was fine with me. So he came by to pick up the keys. 2 minutes after he left, he called and said that something is wrong with the bike. The neutral would not work and it would not start. He asked me to have a look. So I went to the parking slot and was quite surprised: He took someone’s bike and tried to start it. The only similarity between my and his bike was a broken blinker. It had a bigger engine and a different gearbox which was finally the reason, why he did not find the neutral. But the most suprising part was that the ignition worked and after finding the neutral, the bike started and ran smoothly.

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