Digital Certificate for Internet Security
A digital certificate is a form of electronic credentials for the Internet. It is issued by a Certification Authority (CA). Basically a CA is an independent, recognized and mutually trusted third party that guarantees that the website operating is who it claims to be. When a CA issues digital certificates, it verifies that the owner is not claiming a false identity. There are many public Certification Authorities available today. Two examples of highly trusted CAs are VeriSign and Thawte.
Digital certificate technology is based on the theory of public key cryptography. The CA issues an encrypted digital certificate containing the applicant's public key and a variety of other identification information. It contains version, your name, a serial number, expiration dates, signature algorithm identifier, issuer name, validity period, a copy of the certificate holder's public key, and the digital signature of the issuing CA.
The recipient of an encrypted message uses the CA's public key which is normally available on the Internet to decode the digital certificate attached to the message, verifies it as issued by the CA and then obtains the sender's public key and identification information held within the certificate. With this information, the recipient can send an encrypted reply.
Some digital certificates conform to a standard, X.509 which is a user-proclaimed standard of the PKI (Public-Key Infrastructure). It is used for secure management and distribution of digitally signed certificates across secure Internet networks.
The most common use of a digital certificate is to verify that a user sending a message is who he or she claims to be, and to provide the receiver with the means to encode a reply.
When a Web browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer makes a secure connection through HTTPS, the server digital certificate is automatically turned over for review. The browser will check the certificate for anomalies or problems. An alert may be poped up if problem found. When digital certificates are in order, the browser completes secure connections without interruption.
Digital certificate technology is based on the theory of public key cryptography. The CA issues an encrypted digital certificate containing the applicant's public key and a variety of other identification information. It contains version, your name, a serial number, expiration dates, signature algorithm identifier, issuer name, validity period, a copy of the certificate holder's public key, and the digital signature of the issuing CA.
The recipient of an encrypted message uses the CA's public key which is normally available on the Internet to decode the digital certificate attached to the message, verifies it as issued by the CA and then obtains the sender's public key and identification information held within the certificate. With this information, the recipient can send an encrypted reply.
Some digital certificates conform to a standard, X.509 which is a user-proclaimed standard of the PKI (Public-Key Infrastructure). It is used for secure management and distribution of digitally signed certificates across secure Internet networks.
The most common use of a digital certificate is to verify that a user sending a message is who he or she claims to be, and to provide the receiver with the means to encode a reply.
When a Web browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer makes a secure connection through HTTPS, the server digital certificate is automatically turned over for review. The browser will check the certificate for anomalies or problems. An alert may be poped up if problem found. When digital certificates are in order, the browser completes secure connections without interruption.
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