Certificate Manager

This section describes how to use the Certificate Manager. For more information on using certificates, see Using Certificates.

If you are not currently viewing the Certificate Manager window, follow these steps:

1. Open the &brandShortName; Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Privacy & Security category, click Certificates. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Privacy & Security to expand the list.)
3. Click Manage Certificates.

Your Certificates

The Your Certificates tab in the Certificate Manager displays the certificates on file that identify you. Your certificates are listed under the names of the organizations that issued them:

• If you can't see certificate names under an organization's name, double-click the name.
• To select a certificate, click its name.
• To select more than one certificate, hold down the Control key and click their names.

To perform the following actions, select one or more certificates and click one of the following buttons:

• View: Display detailed information about the selected certificates.
• Backup: Initiate the process of saving the selected certificates. A window appears that allows you to choose a password to protect the backup. You can then save the backup in a directory of your choice.
• Delete: Delete the selected certificates.

These actions do not require a certificate to be selected:

• Import: Import a file containing one or more certificates that were previously backed up. When you click Import, Certificate Manager first asks you to locate the file that contains the backup. The names of certificate backup files typically end in .p12; for example, MyCert.p12. After you select the file to be imported, Certificate Manager asks you to enter the password that you set when you backed up the certificate.
• Backup All: Initiate the process of saving all the certificates stored in the Software Security Device.

  Note: Certificates on smart cards cannot be backed up. Whether you select some of your certificates and click Backup, or click Backup All, the resulting backup file will not include any certificates stored on smart cards or other external security devices. You can only back up certificates that are stored on the built-in Software Security Device.

Choose a Certificate Backup Password

A certificate backup password protects one or more certificates that you are backing up from the Your Certificates tab in the Certificate Manager.

The Certificate Manager asks you to set this password when you back up certificates, and requests it when you attempt to import certificates that have previously been backed up.

• Certificate backup password: Type your backup password into this field.
• Certificate backup password (again): Type your backup password again. If you don't type it the second time exactly as you did the first time, the OK button remains inactive. If this happens, try typing the new password again.

If someone obtains the file containing a certificate that you have backed up and successfully imports the certificate, that person can send messages or access websites while pretending to be you. This can be a problem, for example, if you digitally sign important email messages or manage your bank or investment accounts over the Internet.

Therefore, it's important to select a certificate backup password that is difficult to guess. The password quality meter gives you a rough idea of the quality of your password as you type it based on factors such as length and the use of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. It does not guarantee that your password cannot be guessed, however.

For further guidelines, see Choosing a Good Password.

It's also important to record the password in a safe place—and not anywhere that's easily accessible to someone else. If you forget this password, you can't import the backup of your certificate.

Delete Your Certificates

Before deleting one of your own expired certificates from the Your Certificates tab in the Certificate Manager, make sure you won't need it again some day for reading old email messages that you may have encrypted with the corresponding private key.

Other People's Certificates

The Other People's tab in the Certificate Manager displays email certificates you have on file that identify other people.

When people send you digitally signed email messages, Certificate Manager imports their certificates automatically. You can use these certificates to send encrypted messages to those people.

Other people's certificates are listed under the names of the organizations that issued them:

• If you can't see certificate names under an organization's name, double-click the name.
• To select a certificate, click its name.
• To select more than one certificate, hold down the Control key and click their names.

To perform the following actions, select one or more certificates and click one of the following buttons:

• View: Display detailed information about the selected certificates.
• Delete: Delete the selected certificates.

Delete Email Certificates

Before deleting someone else's certificate from the Other People's tab in the Certificate Manager, make sure you won't need it again some day to send encrypted email to that person or to verify digital signatures on messages from that person.

Website Certificates

The Websites tab in the Certificate Manager displays certificates you have on file that identify websites.

Website certificates are grouped under the names of the organizations that issued them:

• If you can't see certificate names under an organization's name, double-click the name.
• To select a certificate, click its name.
• To select more than one certificate, hold down the Control key and click their names.

To perform the following actions, select one or more certificates and click one of the following buttons:

• View: Display detailed information about the selected certificates.
• Edit: View or change the trust settings that Certificate Manager associates with the selected certificates. You can use these settings to designate a website certificate as one that you trust or don't trust for identification purposes.
• Delete: Delete the selected certificates.

Edit Website Certificate Trust Settings

When you select a website certificate from the Websites tab in the Certificate Manager and click Edit, you see a window entitled Edit website certificate trust settings. Here you specify whether you want to trust the selected certificate for identifying the website and setting up an encrypted connection.

The dialog box contains these elements:

• The certificate name of certificate was issued by: Provides information about the certificate authority that issued this certificate.
• Edit certificate trust settings:
  • Trust the authenticity of this certificate: If you select this option, Certificate Manager will henceforth trust this certificate for the purposes of identifying this website or setting up an encrypted connection. If you select this option and then attempt to visit the website, your browser will access the site with few, if any, warnings.
  • Do not trust the authenticity of this certificate: If you select this option, Certificate Manager will no longer trust this certificate for the purposes of identifying this website or setting up an encrypted connection. If you select this option and then attempt to visit the website, you will see one or more warning messages before you can access the site.
• Edit CA Trust: Click this button to specify trust settings for the certificate authority (CA) that issued the website certificate. These settings allow you to trust or not to trust different kinds of certificates issued by that certificate authority. For example, you can choose to trust all website certificates issued by the authority.

Click OK to confirm your choice.

Delete Website Certificates

Before deleting a website certificate from the Websites tab in the Certificate Manager, make sure that you won't need it again for the purposes of identifying a website and setting up an encrypted connection.

Authorities

The Authorities tab in the Certificate Manager displays the certificates you have on file that identify certificate authorities (CAs).

CA certificates are grouped under the names of the organizations that issued them:

• If you can't see CA certificate names under an organization's name, double-click the name.
• To select a CA certificate, click its name.
• To select more than one CA certificate, hold down the Control key and click their names.

To perform these actions, select the certificates on which you want to act and click one of these buttons:

• View: Display detailed information about the selected certificates.
• Edit: View or change the settings that Certificate Manager associates with the selected certificates. You can use these settings to designate what kinds of certificates, if any, you trust that are issued by the corresponding CAs.
• Delete: Delete the selected certificates.

To ensure that an entire certificate chain of CAs are all trusted, you need to edit the root CA certifiate only.

To import the chain, you click a link on a web page provided by the CA. You can then use the authorities tab to locate the root certificate and edit its trust settings.

The root and intermediate CAs all appear under the same organization. The root certificate is the one that lists itself as the the issuer.

If you download an intermediate CA: If you download an intermediate CA certificate that chains to a root certificate already marked as trusted in your browser, you don't have to indicate what purposes you trust it for. Intermediate certificates automatically inherit the trust settings of their roots.

Edit CA Certificate Trust Settings

When you select a CA certificate from the Authorities tab in the Certificate Manager and click Edit, you see a window entitled Edit CA certificate trust settings. Here you specify the kinds of certificates you trust this CA to certify. If you deselect all the checkboxes, Certificate Manager will not trust any certificates issued by this CA.

The settings have these effects:

• This certificate can identify websites: Certificate Manager will trust certificates issued by this CA for the purpose of identifying websites and encrypting website connections. If you deselect this checkbox, Certificate Manager will not trust website certificates issued by this CA.
• This certificate can identify mail users: Certificate Manager will trust certificates issued by this CA for the purpose of signing or encrypting email. If you deselect this checkbox, Certificate Manager will not trust email certificates issued by this CA.
• This certificate can identify software makers: Certificate Manager will trust certificates issued by this CA for the purpose of identifying software makers. If you deselect this checkbox, Certificate Manager will not trust such certificates issued by this CA.

Click OK to confirm the settings you have selected.

Delete CA Certificates

Before deleting a CA certificate from the Authorities tab in the Certificate Manager, make sure that you won't need it again to validate certificates issued by that CA. If you delete the only valid certificate you have for a CA, Certificate Manager will no longer trust any certificates issued by that CA.

Device Manager

This section describes the options available in the Device Manager window. For background information and step-by-step instructions on the use of the Device Manager, see Managing Smart Cards and Other Security Devices.

If you are not currently viewing the Device Manager window, follow these steps:

1. Open the &brandShortName; Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Privacy & Security category, click Certificates. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click Privacy & Security to expand the list.)
3. In the Certificates panel, click Manage Security Devices.

The Device Manager lists each available PKCS #11 module, and the security devices managed by each module below the module's name.

When you select a module or device, information about the selected item appears in the middle of the window, and some of the buttons on the right side of the window become available. In general, you perform an action on a module or device by selecting its name and clicking the appropriate button:

• Log In: Log into the selected security device. After you have logged in to the device, the frequency with which you will be asked to enter the master password for the device depends on the Master Password Timeout settings.
• Log Out: Log out of the selected security device. After you have logged out of the device, the device and the certificates it contains will not be available until you log in again.
• Change Password: Change the master password for the selected security device.
• Load: Displays a dialog box that allows you to specify the name and location of a new PKCS #11 module. Before adding a new module, you should first install the module software on your computer and if necessary connect any associated hardware device. Follow the instructions provided by the vendor.
• Unload: Unload the selected module. If you unload a module, both the module and its security devices are no longer available for use by the browser.
• Enable FIPS: Turns the FIPS mode on and off. For more information, see Enable FIPS Mode.