Thunderbird: How to hide mail subjects before Master PW entered?

Bossk128

Bossk128

Bossk128

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Good afternoon,
I read a few weeks ago (somewhere on the net) about a config edit that would stop your mail subjects/folder lists appearing in the Thunderbird window until after the Master Software password has been entered. I can only assume it'd be seen as a blank white area.

It was to avoid letting other people load up your TBird client and seeing what emails you've got despite not having your password.

I think it was something to do with asking Tbird not to cache the view, but can't rememeber if it was an ini hack or a custom Javascript or what. I wish I'd bookmarked it now.

Any chance anybody out there can tell me how to do this?

Cheers,
 
I've found it. Nicked from a blog here.

To password protect the message list pane, add the line


user_pref("mail.password_protect_local_cache", true);

to the prefs.js file in your profile directory.

Edit: It does seem to prompt for the master password twice now though, but thats hardly a biggy.
 
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Took me ages to find it. The alternative way I almost set up was use a batch file to load up Tbird, then 2nd line (executed when you exit TBird) deletes all the *.MSF files in the profile. MSFs seem to be the cache of the message list pane, and TBird would just recreate it at boot up.

But I like the prefs.js method better :p
 
Hm, that is true. But if they know what to do to get around that, they proabably know how to get my mail from temporary files, or reading headers in *.mft (they're in plain text). I'm kind of hoping no hack geek will be wanting to see my stuff, just trying to protect from potentially nosy colleagues. Point taken though, perhaps removing mfts is the way forward.
 
there is a little extension called diddlydo for thunderbird that allows you to password protect mail folders within a profile

i use it so the kids don't go looking through the trash as some of the spam in there has dodgy pics in it
it also keeps the missus away from finding out about my ebay buying ;)

its not particularly secure but better than a poke in the eye
 
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