Types of Digital Certificates

There are three types of Digital Certificates; namely

1. TLS/SSL Certificate
2. Code Signing Certificate
3. Client Certificate

TLS/SSL Certificate

TLS/SSL (Transport Layer Security/Secure Socket Layer) Certificates are installed on the server. The purpose of these certificates is to ensure that all communication between the client and the server is private and encrypted. The server could be a web server, app server, mail server, LDAP server, or any other type of server that requires authentication to send or receive encrypted information. The address of a website with a TLS/SSL certificate will start with “https://” instead of “http://”, where the “s” stands for “secure.”

Code Signing Certificate

Code Signing Certificates are used to sign software or files that are downloaded over the internet. They’re signed by the developer/publisher of the software. Their purpose is to guarantee that the software or file is genuine and comes from the publisher it claims to belong. They’re especially useful for publishers who distribute their software for download through third-party sites. Code signing certificates also act as a proof that the file hasn’t been tampered with since download.

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Client Certificate

Client Certificates or Digital IDs are used to identify one user to another, a user to a machine, or a machine to another machine. One common example is emails, where the sender digitally signs the communication, and the recipient verifies the signature. Client certificates authenticate the sender and the recipient. Client certificates also take the form of two-factor authentication when the user needs to access a protected database or arrives at the gateway to a payment portal, where they’ll be expected to enter their passwords and be subjected to further verification.

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