root certificate : Java Glossary

2008-07-30 by Roedy Green ©1996-2009 Canadian Mind Products
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root certificate

You need the latest and greatest root CA (Certificate Authority) certificates from the various signing authorities installed in your cacerts file and in your browser. With them you can validate the public keys of certificates issued by that authority. The easiest way to do that is to use the latest Java JRE and also go to your browser vendor site and get the latest version of your browser, which will naturally include the latest root certificates. Happily most browsers come with extensive lists of root certificates built-in. Every new version of the browser automatically updates the list.

Why You need to Install Root Certificates	Caveat
Importing Code-Signing Root Certificates	Sources Of Root Certificates
How to Import Root certificates Into Various Browsers	Links

Why You need to Install Root Certificates

If you don’t have the corresponding signing authority root certificate in your browser, your browser will treat SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) https web sites and Applets signed with expensive certificates with the same disdain it treats self-signed phony ones.

When a company such as Thawte or Verisign issues a digital certificate for SSL or code signing, they digitally sign it with their own master private key certificate. To verify that the certificates that they issue are valid, you need a copy of the issuing authority’s public key in your browser for SLL (or in your cacerts file for signed Applets or Java Web Start). The process of installing these public keys is called downloading root certificates or installing certificate authorities.

Importing Code-Signing Root Certificates

To install code signing authorities, download the certificate and read up on how to use keytool.exe to import it into you cacerts file. For Java’s use, you must import the root certificates into all your cacerts files with keytool.

You can always export certificates from one browser and import into another rather that trying to update directly.

With modern JREs, it is most important to get the JREs updated with the recent root certs, then secondarily the browser.

How to Import Root certificates Into Various Browsers

Often all you need do install a certificate is click the link and the root certificate will automatically install into your browser.

How To Update Root Signing Authority Certificates
Last revised: 2008-01-23
Logo	Browser	What To Do
	Java	You download the root certificate then import it into both your JRE and JDK with: Where C:\temp\Thawte Code Signing CA.cer is the name of the root certificate you are importing. The default password for cacerts. is changeit.
	Opera	Just click on the certificate reference to download and import it, or click File ⇒ Open. Alternatively, Click tools ⇒ preferences ⇒ advanced ⇒ security ⇒ manage certificates ⇒ import. To see what root certificates are installed Click tools ⇒ preferences ⇒ advanced ⇒ security ⇒ manage certificates.
	Firefox	Just click on the certificate reference to download and import it, or click File ⇒ Open. Alternatively, click Tools ⇒ Options ⇒ Advanced ⇒ Encryption ⇒ View Certificates ⇒ import .
	Sea Monkey	Just click on the certificate reference to download and import it, or click File ⇒ Open. Alternatively, click Edit ⇒ Preferences ⇒ Privacy & Security ⇒ Certificates ⇒ Manage Certificates ⇒ import .
	IE 7	Download each certificate, then click file ⇒ open. To see which root signing authority certificates are included click tools ⇒ Internet Options ⇒ Content ⇒ Trusted Root Certificate Authorities.
	IE 6	Download each certificate, then click file ⇒ open. To see which root signing authority certificates are included click tools ⇒ Internet Options ⇒ Content ⇒ Trusted Root Certificate Authorities.
	Safari	Click start ⇒ Control Panel ⇒ network ⇒ Internet Options ⇒ Content ⇒ Trusted Root Certificate Authorities ⇒ import .

See Mitch Gallant’s documentation on importing root certificates.

Caveat

Be very careful to get the root certificate direct from the original certificate authority, or perhaps from Microsoft or your OS/browser vendor. It could have been tampered with if you pick it up anywhere else.

Sources Of Root Certificates

Here is where you can get various root certificates. Some of the most common ones are not listed here, since they come built-in.

Installing Root Certificate
Source	Notes
AdTrust	Hosted on the InstantSSL website. AddTrust, InstantSSL and Comodo appear to be sister companies.
Aegis
Aloaha	For the Aloha free timestamp server.
ASP	Association of Shareware Professionals, the PAD people. They have a list of root certificates used for signing PAD files, including ASP itself.
CalNet	University of Berkeley. Need CalNet id.
Cacert	Have certs in PEM, DER and TXT form, interesting if you are curious about what is inside a cert. Also have GPG cert. Australian. Issue free certs.
Cren	non-profit
Deutsche Bank
Digicert
Entrust
ETH	Switzerland, Professor Wirth’s home
GeoTrust	include Equifax roots.
GlobalSign
GoDaddy	handle Valicert.
Harvard University	I searched and searched but could not find it. They ignored my email.
IdentTrust
InstantSSL	aka Comodo
Microsoft	For W98/Me/NT/W2K Microsoft root certificate updates are part of the Windows Update, though they are not part of the automatic install mechanism.
Netrust
RapidSSL
Sprint	for cell-phones
RSA	They must be somewhere on the website, but I can’t find them. If you find them, please tell me the URL.
Starfield	For the Starfield free timestamp server.
SwissSign
Thawte	You can download a complete zipped collection of Thawte root certificates in three different wrapping styles. JDK 1.5 beta inadvertently left out the root Thawte code signing root certificate. You need to import it into all the cacerts. files on machines using your cert.
University of Connecticutt
University of Darthmouth
University of Maryland
Usher	Handles issuing certifaces for various universities
Verisign	code-signing and SSL. You can also download a bundle of Verisign, Thawte and Geotrust certificates. You can also verify the certificate fingerprints.
Verison	for cell-phones
Virginia Tech
WebMoney

certificate vendors
digital certificate
Java Web Start
List of root certificates that Google Checkout supports
signed Applet
Thawte
Verisign

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