Microsoft KB Archive/927092

= The size of a digitally signed and encrypted e-mail message grows when you create, forward, or reply to a digitally signed and encrypted e-mail message in Outlook or in Outlook Express =

Article ID: 927092

Article Last Modified on 10/30/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
 * Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0

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INTRODUCTION
This article discusses the fact that the size of a digitally signed and encrypted e-mail message grows when you create, forward, or reply to a digitally signed and encrypted e-mail message in Microsoft Outlook or in Microsoft Outlook Express. This growth continues even if you do not use digital signatures or encryption in later replies and forwards.



MORE INFORMATION
When you digitally sign or encrypt a message, the message is stored as MIME, instead of as MAPI. This process causes all attachments to be stored in base-64 encoding. This process also causes an increase in attachment size by a factor of 4/3.

When you digitally sign and encrypt a message, Outlook first signs the message. This causes a base-64 increase in the message size by 4/3. Outlook then encrypts the message. This again causes a base-64 increase in the message size by 4/3. Therefore, the message size grows by approximately 16/9. Additionally, there is some overhead that is associated with these two processes.

If you use Rich Text Format (RTF), the message is stored together with two copies of the message's body, the HTML formatting, and the RTF formatting. This also causes the message's size to grow.

Additionally, the digital signature or encryption data is added to the message, together with all the included overhead, when you send the message. For digital signatures, this process includes the certificate chain, the signing time, the S/MIME information, and so on. For encryption, this process includes the lockboxes for each person for whom the mail is being encrypted. This also causes the message's size to grow.

Plain text is much smaller than HTML. When you use plain text, the growth rate does not exceed 50%.

Additional query words: OL2000 OL2002 OL2003

Keywords: kbexpertisebeginner kbhowto KB927092

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