Topal software integrates GnuPG and Pine/Alpine and provides a secure email environment. It is a user-friendly application for encryption, decryption, signing, and verifying emails using GnuPG, and works seamlessly with Pine/Alpine email clients.
Topal is a powerful application that allows users to link GnuPG and Pine/Alpine. With Topal, you can easily encrypt, decrypt, sign, and verify emails.
Installation and configuration of Topal is straightforward. To compile Topal, you will need a working C compiler and the GNU Ada Compiler (GNAT). Simply type `make' to compile the files, and type `make install' to see what files need to be copied. MIME features require an installation of mime-construct and metamail.
To set up the Pine/Alpine sending and display filters, you need to assume that the Topal binary is installed in /usr/local/bin. The display-filters setting begins with `_BEGINNING("-----BEGIN PGP ")_ /usr/local/bin/topal -display _TMPFILE_ _RESULTFILE_' and the sending-filters setting begins with '/usr/local/bin/topal -send _TMPFILE_ _RESULTFILE_ _RECIPIENTS_,' followed by '/usr/local/bin/topal -sendmime _TMPFILE_ _RESULTFILE_ _MIMETYPE_ _RECIPIENTS_'. Note that `_RECIPIENTS_' should be last. The -sendmime option allows the user to choose the MIME type of the outbound email. Legacy fixes are in place that make -decrypt and -verify behave the same as -display.
To enable -sendmime to work, you will need to patch Pine/Alpine with patches available for versions 4.44, 4.50, 4.53, 4.58, 4.60 and 4.64 of Pine as well as version 1.00 of Alpine. Please note that the Alpine patches also modify Alpine's configuration. There is a hidden preference `enable Topal hack' (enable-topal-hack) that you need to switch on.
Topal works well for sending via an SMTP server, but it may break for sending via /usr/lib/sendmail. If it does, send a debug trace by invoking pine with `-d 9'. Additionally, you can add '--read-from _INCLUDEALLHDRS_' before send and -sendmime to make Topal attempt to guess a suitable key for signing and self-encryption. If multiple possible keys match, then you'll be offered a menu of the keys.
To decode MIME RFC2015/3156 multipart/signed and /encrypted messages requires the assistance of Metamail. To add this, simply update either the user mailcap configuration (.mailcap) or the system configuration (/etc/mailcap).
In your procmailrc, add the recipe ":0fw | /usr/local/bin/topal --fix-email" to modify inbound emails with top-level multipart/signed or multipart/encrypted MIME types by adding a multipart/misc wrapper so that Pine/Alpine can hand it off to Topal. All other emails remain unchanged.
Finally, Topal requires you to create a directory called `${HOME}/.topal', which you can easily create. After doing so, run Topal with the -dump or -default option to create the basic configuration file named `config'. Note that all .topal files are silently ignored if they cannot be found, and parsing errors cause an exception. If you want to include strings with spaces, you will need to quote them with double-quotes ("). Double-quotes themselves can be included by "stuffing" ("").
Installation and configuration of Topal is straightforward. To compile Topal, you will need a working C compiler and the GNU Ada Compiler (GNAT). Simply type `make' to compile the files, and type `make install' to see what files need to be copied. MIME features require an installation of mime-construct and metamail.
To set up the Pine/Alpine sending and display filters, you need to assume that the Topal binary is installed in /usr/local/bin. The display-filters setting begins with `_BEGINNING("-----BEGIN PGP ")_ /usr/local/bin/topal -display _TMPFILE_ _RESULTFILE_' and the sending-filters setting begins with '/usr/local/bin/topal -send _TMPFILE_ _RESULTFILE_ _RECIPIENTS_,' followed by '/usr/local/bin/topal -sendmime _TMPFILE_ _RESULTFILE_ _MIMETYPE_ _RECIPIENTS_'. Note that `_RECIPIENTS_' should be last. The -sendmime option allows the user to choose the MIME type of the outbound email. Legacy fixes are in place that make -decrypt and -verify behave the same as -display.
To enable -sendmime to work, you will need to patch Pine/Alpine with patches available for versions 4.44, 4.50, 4.53, 4.58, 4.60 and 4.64 of Pine as well as version 1.00 of Alpine. Please note that the Alpine patches also modify Alpine's configuration. There is a hidden preference `enable Topal hack' (enable-topal-hack) that you need to switch on.
Topal works well for sending via an SMTP server, but it may break for sending via /usr/lib/sendmail. If it does, send a debug trace by invoking pine with `-d 9'. Additionally, you can add '--read-from _INCLUDEALLHDRS_' before send and -sendmime to make Topal attempt to guess a suitable key for signing and self-encryption. If multiple possible keys match, then you'll be offered a menu of the keys.
To decode MIME RFC2015/3156 multipart/signed and /encrypted messages requires the assistance of Metamail. To add this, simply update either the user mailcap configuration (.mailcap) or the system configuration (/etc/mailcap).
In your procmailrc, add the recipe ":0fw | /usr/local/bin/topal --fix-email" to modify inbound emails with top-level multipart/signed or multipart/encrypted MIME types by adding a multipart/misc wrapper so that Pine/Alpine can hand it off to Topal. All other emails remain unchanged.
Finally, Topal requires you to create a directory called `${HOME}/.topal', which you can easily create. After doing so, run Topal with the -dump or -default option to create the basic configuration file named `config'. Note that all .topal files are silently ignored if they cannot be found, and parsing errors cause an exception. If you want to include strings with spaces, you will need to quote them with double-quotes ("). Double-quotes themselves can be included by "stuffing" ("").
What's New
Version 69: N/A