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Certificate authority?
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Buying & Shipping Index
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A certificate authority (CA) is a third party which verifies the identity of
the site you are connected with. . A certificate issued by the CA binds an identity
to a public/private key pair, just as a photo on your
driver's licence connects your identity with your personal details. The certificate
authority issues a certificate (also called a digital
certificate or an authentication certificate) to an applicant company, which
can then put the certificate up on its site.
Netscape and Microsoft browsers have built-in lists of CAs, which you can alter
if you wish. To examine and modify your list of CAs in Netscape, click on Options,
then Security Options, and then on the Site Certificates tab. In Microsoft Explorer,
click on View, then on Options, and select the Security tab. From there you can
click on the Sites button in the Certificates box. There is no absolute list of
which Certificate Authorities are reliable, but the ones included in Netscape
and Microsoft browsers have been accepted as dependable by Netscape and Microsoft.
If you connect with a secure site authorized by a CA not listed in your browser's
list, you will be alerted and asked if you want to add the new CA to your
browser's list. It is not recommended that you add a new CA to your list, unless
you have a good reason to trust the CA.
A reliable certificate authority normally charges a fee to the companies it
certifies. In exchange, it will run a background check on the company, ensuring
that it has properly registered and filed the appropriate paperwork to be a
legitimate company in the area where it operates. A Certificate Authority does
not check or guarantee the financial soundness of a company.
Go to: What are my liabilities if my credit card number is stolen over the Internet?
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