Self-signed Certificates

Self-signed certificates are widely used for testing purposes. In self-signed certificates, user creates a pair of public and private keys using a certificate creation tool and signs the document with the public key. The receiver requests the sender for the private key to verify the certificate. However, the certificate verification rarely occurs due to necessity of disclosing the private key. This makes self-signed certificates useful only in a self-controlled testing environment.

In cryptography and computer security, a self-signed certificate is an identity certificate signed by the same entity whose identity it certifies. However, the term has nothing to do with the identity of the person or organization that actually performed the signing procedure.

Tools to create self-certificates

List of tools to create self-certificates:

  • Adobe Reader
  • Java’s keytool
  • Apple’s Keychain

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External references

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