Comments for What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

Comment from Atul on 2012-02-03

2012-02-03T21:58:02Z

Perfect , now I understand what root cert is.
-good job.
-Atul

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A comment on: What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

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Comment from Iftikhar Ali on 2012-01-28

2012-01-29T01:24:14Z

I always thought public keys are only used to to encrypt the message which can be only decrypted by the corresponding private key. But above, during the signing process you are saying that Root CA public key is used to decrypt the 'encrypted public key' that was received as part of the certificate. I know what you have said is correct..but I'm not able to understand..it..can you please take a moment to explain..!

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A comment on: What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

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Comment from ArphPeck on 2011-09-30

2011-10-01T04:21:30Z

Really good article at explaining the use and need for certificates. the problem I am having is actually finding and updating my certificates on an old XP when the windows update won't install because I don't have the certificate and I can't get the certificate because the windows update won't install because i don't have a certificate and I can't get a certificate because the windows update won't install....this circular problem is driving me crazy. i even tried importing certificates from a newer updated version of XP and I still get an error message when trying to install adobe flash or windows installer. Is there another article where this issue is addressed? I've tried the microsoft site and what they recommend (importing certificates) still doesn't help. Thanks

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A comment on: What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

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Comment from Yeppers on 2011-01-01

2011-01-01T21:31:47Z

Leo –

What a fascinating article! Now I know that I should download at least one of the non-high priority Microsoft Updates.

Question #1: In the second bullet point under the section for “cryptographic signing,” why is it necessary (or even beneficial) to match the decrypted version with the unencrypted version -- why not just go with the decrypted version as the genuine version? Wouldn’t this skip a step where something can go wrong in the verification of a public key?

Question #2: Early in the Microsoft Update process, a brief message flashes on my PC XP screen that says in part: “If you see an ActiveX warning, make sure the control is digitally signed by Microsoft before installing it or allowing it to run.” Based on this article, it seems like I can ignore this message because it is the PC browser -- not the user -- that does the verification of the digital signature. Is this correct?

Thanks…

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A comment on: What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

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Comment from ufo on 2010-07-09

2010-07-10T06:01:52Z

hi,

that is reasonably well explained, but just to be complete: Does windows update use a secure way to send you their root certificates (and other updates)? It might be worth mentioning, cause anyone attempting to understand this should immediately wonder about this, lest they have not understood it.

I would certainly expect so, and not just for root certificates, but for everything it wants to download to your machine.

11-Jul-2010

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A comment on: What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

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Comment from Wout on 2009-10-22

2009-10-22T21:58:18Z

I'm missing the part where your web site receives public + private key from the CA and uses the private key to decrypt the message from the browser?

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A comment on: What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

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Comment from Brett Brown on 2009-09-30

2009-09-30T20:15:13Z

Thank you for the excelent explaination of this process. I'm in net+ training and prepping for the test. Now it all makes sense.

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A comment on: What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

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Comment from Gabe on 2009-09-30

2009-09-30T15:27:43Z

I notice they are not mandatory downloads. Are they ever mandatory and if not, why? This seems as critical an update as any security update.

I've never seen them as mandatory. Microsoft seems to restrict mandatory to only critical security updates - the kind of things that could cause crashes, compromises etc, if not updated. (OK, and WGA updates, and a couple of other things apparently on Microsoft's agenda.) Not taking an optional root certificate update would, at worst, simply throw warnings when you visit a site that required a cert you didn't have. In general it's a fine thing to take them, but not a security issue if you do not.

01-Oct-2009

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A comment on: What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

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Comment from Rosie Perera on 2009-09-24

2009-09-24T22:54:15Z

Thank you for that excellent explanation. I've never understood that stuff. So...you neglected to spell it out explicitly, but it's pretty obvious. In answer to your questioner's question, yes, it sounds like you should download and install them.

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A comment on: What are Root Certificates, and why do I need to update them?

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