Adobe 62000112DM User Guide - Page 260

Creating or obtaining digital IDs About digital IDs ADOBE ACROBAT 3D VERSION 8 253 User Guide Digital IDs include a private key that you safeguard and a public key (certificate) that you share. A digital ID is like a driver's license or passport. It proves your identity to people and institutions that you commu­ nicate with electronically. A digital ID usually contains your name and email address, the name of the company that issued your digital ID, a serial number, and an expiration date. Digital IDs operate by using a key pair: the public key locks, or encrypts, data; the private key unlocks, or decrypts, that data. When you sign PDF documents, you use the private key to apply your digital signature. You distribute the certificate that contains your public key and other identifying information to those who need to validate your signature, verify your identity, or encrypt information for you. Only your private key can unlock information that was encrypted using your certificate, so be sure to store your digital ID in a safe place. You must have a digital ID to sign, certify, and apply certificate encryption to PDFs. You can get a digital ID from a third-party provider, or you can create a self-signed digital ID. Self-signed digital IDs may be adequate for many situations. However, to prove your identity in most business transactions, you may need a digital ID from a trusted third-party provider, called a certificate authority. Because the certificate authority is responsible for verifying your identity to others, choose one that is trusted by major companies doing business on the Internet. See the Adobe website for information about Adobe security partners that offer digital IDs and other security solutions. You can have multiple digital IDs that you use for different purposes, particularly if you sign documents in different roles or using different certification methods. Digital IDs are usually password protected and can be stored on your computer in PKCS #12 file format, on a smart card or hardware token, in the Windows certificate store, or on a signing server (for roaming IDs). Acrobat includes a default signature handler that can access digital IDs from any of these following locations. (You must register the digital ID in Acrobat for it to be available for use.) See also "Sharing certificates with others" on page 258 "Smart cards and hardware tokens" on page 255