 MaggsPremium
join:2002-11-29
Woodside, NY
 ·RCN CABLE
2 edits | Certs Debunked
cert with MD5 checksums | 
128 bit encryption |
When these site certs expire, the programs automatically check to make sure everything is on the up and up by going to Verisign Certification Revocation List (CRL) server, to make sure the program hasn't missed a notice and the program you use updates its cert records on the spot. Even Internet Explorer uses certs to verify data and the identity of a remote computer, such as the ones used by your bank in Online Banking Transactions.
One way to check the validity of a site is to double click the lock icon when you see it on a site. This will open the SSL properties for the cert.
The certificate will give you a couple of pieces of info these include:
Try »www.bankone.com
You will see the closed lock icon. If you double click you can see its properties.
Shown are two examples of SSL cert pages in Mozilla, the alternative to Internet Explorer with a built in popup blocker.
My college has a secure site that is 1024 bit encrypted. Bank One is only 128 bit encrypted. 128 bit is the most common encryption method, it took a team of people on BBR 5 years to "brute force" a 72 bit key, check out the RC5 project here on BBR for more details.
NOTICE: the https:, this means Bank One is a secure site always look for that in your address bar, and also double click the icon since A LOCK CAN BE FAKED, if you know what to do.
Verisign messed with my credit card company Capital One for 6 months on a domain name charge that I cancelled and they kept billing, so I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw the CEO. |
