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Secure Web Connections

Adapted from Indiana University's Knowledgebase

Secure Site Facts | Secure vs. Unsecure | Get an IPFW certificate

Note: It has recently been reported that SSL certificates are not fully and correctly implemented in Microsoft's IE 5.x and 6.x versions. Until a corrective patch is available for these browsers, for secure transactions, use Netscape 4.x or higher. (9/2/02)

What are secure Web sites and SSL certificates?

A secure Web site uses encryption and authentication standards to protect the confidentiality of Web transactions. If your browser fails to recognize this site as secure, i.e., "trusting" its transmission encryption, you will be alerted by a pop up window. You may then manually authorize access in secure mode. To automatically "trust" such IPFW sites, you can install a "certificate" on your computer. It will provide automatic confirmation of your "trust" in IPFW's secured transactions.(see below).

Currently, the most commonly used protocol for Web security is SSL, or Secure Socket Layer. In addition to providing security for HTTP (Web hypertext) transactions, SSL works with other TCP/IP standards such as IMAP mail and LDAP directory access. For a security standard such as SSL to work, your browser and the Web server must both be configured to use it.

When you connect to a Web site using SSL, your browser asks the server to authenticate itself, or confirm its identity. The authentication process uses cryptography to verify that a trusted independent third party, or certificate authority, such as Thawte or VeriSign, has registered and identified the server. SSL can also authenticate connecting users or their computers.

In addition, SSL encrypts the data that you send, and incorporates a mechanism for detecting any alteration in transit, so that eavesdropping on or tampering with Web traffic is almost impossible. This is essential for safely transmitting highly confidential information such as credit card numbers.

Recent browsers, such as Netscape Communicator or Navigator 4.x and Internet Explorer 4.x and later, are set up by default to accept SSL certificates from most established certificate authorities, and to notify you when you are entering or leaving secure sites, including secure areas of comprehensive sites.

For a detailed discussion of the SSL protocol, see:

http://netscape.com/

In Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, how do I know if a site is on a secure server?

By default, both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer will warn you when you are entering or leaving a secure Web site. However, if you have turned these notifications off, the browsers also provide visual clues.

  • Netscape Navigator:
    • You will see a broken key on the browser status bar (bottom left) for unsecure sites.
    In Secure sites you will see an unbroken key on a blue background.
  • Internet Explorer:
    • A padlock will appear in the browser status bar (bottom right).

    How do I obtain an IPFW certificate?

    Without an IPFW SSL Certificate you will be prompted by a Security Alert window to confirm your "trust" in the content transmission between your browser and each secure IPFW Web page every time you access one. To eliminate this repeated prompting, you need to install an IPFW Root SSL Certificate on your computer from each browser you use. (If you use only one browser -- e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator -- you only need install the certificate from that one browser.) Mac users, please use Safari to download the certificate. The installation instructions for each browser are:

    For Internet Explorer (IE) -

    1. Click on the "Install IPFW Root SSL Certificate for IE" link, (below).
      • You will see a 'File Download' dialog box.
      • To save this file to disk, Click 'OK'
    2. The 'Save as' dialog box for the file 'IPFWca.cer' appears.
      • This will save the security certificate to your desktop. Click 'OK'.
    3. Minimize all windows. From the Desktop, Double-Click the certificate.
    4. Click 'Install Certificate'.
      1. The Certificate Manager Import Wizard will open. > click NEXT
      2. Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of certificate > click NEXT
      3. Completing the Certificate Manager Import Wizard > click FINISH
      4. Do you want to add the following certificate to the Root Store? > click "YES"
      5. The import was successful > click "OK"
      6. Certificate dialog box remains open > click "OK"

    IE will now automatically trust IPFW's secured Web sites

    Install IPFW Root SSL Certificate for IE

    Netscape Navigator 4.7x -

    1. Click on the "Install IPFW Root SSL Certificate" link, (below).
    2. You will see a wizard called New Certificate Authority
      1.  Accept the default settings > click NEXT, NEXT, NEXT
      2.  Click to fill in the boxes [ ]:
        •  Accept this certificate authority for certifying network sites
        •  Accept this certificate authority for certifying e-mail users
        •  Accept this certificate authority for certifying software developers
      3.  Accept the prompt > click NEXT
      4.  Accept the prompt > click NEXT
      5.  The New Certificate Authorization" window:
        •  Click in the name field and enter IPFW CA for the description
        •  Click 'Finish

    Netscape Navigator 6.2x / 7.x & Mozilla 1.x -

    1. Click on the "Install IPFW Root Certificate for Netscape/Mozilla" link, below.
      • This should pop up a wizard called Downloading Certificate
    2. Fill in the boxes ([]):
      • Trust this CA to identify web sites
      • Trust this CA to identify email users
      • Trust this CA to identify software developers
    3. Click OK.

    Safari the Mac OS X default Web browser

      1. Control-click the link and save the .cer file.
      2. If prompted, be careful not to append the .txt extension.
      3. Locate the certificate file on your PC and double-click it.
      4. You should now see the Keychain Access Manager. It will ask if you want to add the certificate to the keychain.
      5. From the Keychain drop-down list, choose X509 Anchors.
      6. At the prompt, enter your administrator username and password for OS X.
      7. The certificate is stored on the Mac for Safari and any other Mac program that utilizes certificates and the Keychain.

    Install IPFW Root SSL Certificate for Safari