Microsoft KB Archive/246072

= Certificate Authorities: Using Digital Certificates for Authentication =

Article ID: 246072

Article Last Modified on 6/23/2005

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0

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This article was previously published under Q246072



We strongly recommend that all users upgrade to Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 6.0 running on Microsoft Windows Server 2003. IIS 6.0 significantly increases Web infrastructure security. For more information about IIS security-related topics, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/prodtech/IIS.mspx



SUMMARY
Recognized and trusted organizations, called Certificate Authorities (CA), issue certificates to individuals and corporations. These certificates contain not only details about the holder and their public key, but also the public key of the CA. Because reputable CAs apply rigorous checks to verify that applicants are actually who they claim to be, you can deem the information in the certificates they issue to be accurate. They also make available (through their Web site) their own public key certificate. This is their root certificate. Many browsers come with the popular CA root certificates already installed.



MORE INFORMATION
Before the CA issues a user with their own personal certificate, it digitally signs the certificate using the CA's private key. This means that if you can decrypt this signature using the CA's public key, you know that it is a real valid certificate from that CA.

Verifying Certificates

One party can provide the other with their certificate, and at the same time send them an extract of it, which is encrypted with that party's private key. This extract is called the message digest. The recipient can then check that they are who they claim to be by decrypting the message digest using the public key in the certificate, and then verifying that the results agree with the certificate contents. If they do, the sender must know the private key that matches this certificate, and they must be the legitimate holder of the certificate. All of this happens automatically.

If the real holder of the certificate has allowed someone else to discover their private key, then security is compromised. It is very important to keep your own private keys safe.

Using Digital Certificates

One way of easily adding security to your DNA applications is to use certificates in your communication with clients. This can be done in one of following ways:
 * You can use digital certificates to authenticate visitors and to allow them to authenticate your server, so that both sides are convinced that they actually are connected to who they think they are. -or-


 * You can also use digital certificates to encrypt the communication by using the other party's public keys that they contain. However, asymmetric (public key) encryption is slow. The best practice is to use a combination of encryption methods to make it all work much more quickly.

Server certificates and client certificates are fundamentally the same. IIS can use the certificates that are stored in the browser, which is one reason why you must install Internet Explorer 4.0 on your server when you install the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack.

Authentication and Windows NT Account Mapping

You can configure IIS to accept certificates for a virtual site or directory, and even force IIS to require them. This is done on the Internet Server Manager (ISM) Directory Security tab by selecting Edit in the Secure Communications dialog box, and then choosing Key Manager. When IIS connects with a client that requires access to this directory, it sends the client its own (server) certificate together with a request for the client's certificate. The client checks the server's certificate against its copy of the appropriate CA root certificate, and then sends confirmation of success back to the server together with a copy of its client certificate. The server can then verify the client's certificate against its copy of the appropriate CA root certificate, and then when the result is verified, the server starts normal communication with the client.

IIS can use the contents of the client's certificate to map that user to an existing Windows NT user account on the server. This can be done as a basic one-to-one mapping, where a separate account is required for each client. In the Secure Communication dialog box, click Edit, and then select the Enable Client Certificate Mapping option.

You can also set up a many-to-one mapping on the Advanced tab of this dialog box. In this case, certain parts of the certificate are matched (rather like wildcards) to a single user account.

Additional query words: certificate authority authentication

Keywords: kbinfo KB246072

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