Cryptography Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples - Version 5.36, by Dr. Herong Yang
Why Using Certificates with Web Browsers?
This section describes why Web browsers needs to use certificates - A SSL enabled Web server requires your Web browser to use certificates to encrypt messages between the browser and the server.
In previous parts of the book, we have learned how to generate certificates. Now let's see how we can use certificates with Web browsers.
The first question we need to ask is why do we need use certificates with a Web browser? The answer is that many Web sites supports SSL (Secure Socket Layer), which encrypts every message sent from and received by the Web browser. Encryption added by SSL makes your communication with the Web server secure, because no systems other than your browser and the final server can understand those encrypted messages.
When a Web browser reaches a SSL enabled Web site (URL starts with https://), the server will send a certificate, called server certificate, the Web browser. The subject of the server certificate represents the server. The browser is expected to trust the server certificate, or validate it with a trusted certification path.
A SSL enabled Web site may also ask the Web browser to send back a certificate, called client certificate, to identify the client, so that the server can validate the client.
So a Web browser needs to have certificates for two purposes:
In next sections, we will look at how two popular Web browsers, IE (Internet Explorer) and Firefox uses certificates.
Last update: 2013.
Table of Contents
Introduction to AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
DES Algorithm - Illustrated with Java Programs
DES Algorithm Java Implementation
DES Algorithm - Java Implementation in JDK JCE
DES Encryption Operation Modes
PHP Implementation of DES - mcrypt
Blowfish - 8-Byte Block Cipher
Secret Key Generation and Management
Cipher - Secret Key Encryption and Decryption
RSA Implementation using java.math.BigInteger Class
Introduction of DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm)
Java Default Implementation of DSA
Private key and Public Key Pair Generation
PKCS#8/X.509 Private/Public Encoding Standards
Cipher - Public Key Encryption and Decryption
OpenSSL Introduction and Installation
OpenSSL Generating and Managing RSA Keys
OpenSSL Generating and Signing CSR
OpenSSL Validating Certificate Path
"keytool" and "keystore" from JDK
"OpenSSL" Signing CSR Generated by "keytool"
Migrating Keys from "keystore" to "OpenSSL" Key Files
Certificate X.509 Standard and DER/PEM Formats
Migrating Keys from "OpenSSL" Key Files to "keystore"
►Using Certificates in IE (Internet Explorer)
►Why Using Certificates with Web Browsers?
Visiting a "https" Web Site with IE
Installing Certificate Permanently in IE
Managing Certificates in Certificate Stores
Exporting Certificates Out of IE
OpenSSL Viewing Certificates Exported from IE
Importing CA Certificate into IE
Importing Certificate Path into IE