This exercise complements material in the CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-401 Study Guide.
This lab shows you one method of viewing a digital certificate.
Requirements: This exercise assumes you’re running a Windows system with a web browser such as Google Chrome version 37 or Internet Explorer version 11.
1. Open a web browser.
2. Type in https://www.gcgapremium.com and press Enter. The web browser will create a secure connection with the gcgapremium.com web site using HTTPS over port 443. Some Web browsers give you some type of visual indication that the connection is secure. For example, Google’s Chrome shows a lock in the URL (just to the left of https) as shown in the following graphic:
3. Open the certificate.
If you’re using Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11, use the following steps
a. Ensure the Menu is showing. If not, right click in the top header (not in the URL area or the tab) and select Menu Bar.
b. Select File ->Properties.
c. Click Certificates.
If you’re using Google Chrome version 37, click on the lock icon and select Certificate Information.
4. Click on the Details tab.
5. Select Serial number. The serial number uniquely identifies the certificate.You’ll see something similar to the following graphic:
6. Select Public Key. The public key is available to anyone and is matched to a private key. The private key remains private. You’ll see something similar to the following graphic:
7. Feel free to look around at the different properties of the certificate in the Details tab.
8. Select the Certification Path tab. This shows the certificate trust path. The public root certificate authority (CA) is GlobalSign. GlobalSign has many intermediate CAs that issue certificates. In this certificate, the intermediate CA is GlobalSign Domain Validation CA – G2 and this intermediate CA issued the certificate to www.gcgapremium.com.
9. Close the certificate by clicking OK.
