I What is a digital certificate ?Full story :
A digital certificate is a unique digital signature. This signature is a file on your computer that contains your identity, validated by an independent and international authority. This file, once acquired, is automatically integrated to the Mac OS X keychain.
II For what purpose ?
The certificate is mainly used for two purposes:
- To digitally sign the mails you are sending in order to prove your identity. This ensures that this mail is really coming from you and not from a Spam or virus.
- To encrypt your mails when you correspond with someone also owning a certificate.
III How does it work ?
The certificate includes a private key that must not be transferred to anyone. This key is your identity and must stay in your computer. It also includes a public key. This one will be sent automatically to your correspondents within your first mail to them.
This public key will then allow you and your certified recipients to exchange encrypted and digitally signed emails.
Don't worry, Mac OS X perfectly manages these processes without any additional software and it is completely "transparent" for the end-user...
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