Certificate server

Transmitting information over the Internet can be risky. Information you send is passed from one computer to the next until it reaches its destination. During the transmission, other users can eavesdrop on the transmission or intercept your information, and even change the contents of your message.

Certificate servers validate, or certify, keys. Keys are strings of text generated from a complex series of encryption algorithms that allow you to secure communication for a company or group of users. Many Web servers, such as IIS, create keys that, after having been validated, can be applied to other servers, such as news servers or Web servers. The purpose of this process is to create a way for people to communicate and be reasonably sure that others are not eavesdropping or assuming a false identity.

The nature of e-mail and newsgroup servers and protocols makes them susceptible to identity theft. Digital certificates help minimize this security risk by authenticating users before they transmit information. A digital certificate is a password protected, encrypted data file containing message encryption, user identification and message text. It is used to authenticate a program or a sender s public key, or to initiate SSL sessions. It must be signed by a certificate authority (CA) to be valid.