What is a Digital Certificate.
Computers for Children & Teachers.
Definition: A Digital Certificate is also called an authentication certificate. It allows you to verify that an e-mail message originated from the organization or individual it claims to come from. Digital Certificate is a code which is attached to an electronic file or message that encodes or signs the file for security reasons.
The most common reason of a digital certificate is to verify that the person sending a message is who he or she claims to be, and to provide the receiver with a way of encoding a reply.
Its is your digital passport, an Internet ID. . In normal e-mail practise, it is easy to fake your identity. With digital certificates, you digitally encode verifiable evidence of your identity into the email.
The person who wants to send any encrypted message applies for a digital certificate from a Certified Authority. Your E mail is encrypted into incomprehensible gibberish lingo when it leaves your computer and remains in this state through the Internet. The Certified Authorty issues an encrypted digital certificate containing the persons public key and other identification information.
Thus a digital certificate is an electronic message used for online security. Digital Certificates is a solution for E-Commerce to protect your data as it travels the Internet and it is on this that the foundation of E-commerce stands.