digital certificate Last modified: Thursday, July 14, 2005
An attachment to an electronic message used for security purposes. 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. An individual wishing to send an encrypted message applies for a digital certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA). The CA issues an encrypted digital certificate containing the applicant's public key and a variety of other identification information. The CA makes its own public key readily available through print publicity or perhaps on the Internet. The recipient of an encrypted message uses the CA's public key 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. The most widely used standard for digital certificates is X.509. Also see SSL: Your Key to E-commerce Security in Webopedia's "Did You Know...?" section.
•E-mail this definition to a colleague• For internet.com pages about digital certificate . Also check out the following links! DRM Watch  Analysis of digital rights management technology. CAcert.org A community non-profit Certificate Authority. In Certificates We Trust Information Week article (March 1998) on the use of digital certificate software to speed transactions by moving them online.	Digital Rights Management (DRM) Encryption Security attachment certification authority encryption PEAP public-key encryption SASL SSL X.509 Give Us Your Feedback Shopping digital certificate Products Compare Products,Prices and Stores Shop by Category: Tools and Accessories 29 Store Offers Building Supplies 32 Store Offers MP3 Players 1 Model Matches Security Systems and Surveillance 9 Store Offers