Netgear SRXN3205 SRXN3205 Reference Manual - Page 154

Managing Certificates, Viewing and Loading CA Certificates

Page 154 highlights

ProSafe Wireless-N VPN Firewall SRXN3205 Reference Manual Managing Certificates The firewall uses digital certificates to authenticate connecting VPN gateways or clients, and to be authenticated by remote entities. A certificate that authenticates a server, for example, is a file that contains: • A public encryption key to be used by clients for encrypting messages to the server. • Information identifying the operator of the server. • A digital signature confirming the identity of the operator of the server. Ideally, the signature is from a trusted third party whose identity can be verified absolutely. You can obtain a certificate from a well-known commercial Certificate Authority (CA) such as Verisign or Thawte, or you can generate and sign your own certificate. Because a commercial CA takes steps to verify the identity of an applicant, a certificate from a commercial CA provides a strong assurance of the server's identity. A self-signed certificate will trigger a warning from most browsers as it provides no protection against identity theft of the server. Your firewall contains a self-signed certificate from NETGEAR. We recommend that you replace this certificate prior to deploying the firewall in your network. From the VPN > Certificates main menu/submenu, you can view the currently loaded certificates, upload a new certificate and generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR). Your firewall will typically hold two types of certificates: • CA certificate. Each CA issues its own CA identity certificate in order to validate communication with the CA and to verify the validity of certificates signed by the CA. • Self certificate. The certificate issued to you by a CA identifying your device. Viewing and Loading CA Certificates The Trusted Certificates (CA Certificates) table lists the certificates of CAs and contains the following data: • CA Identity (Subject Name). The organization or person to whom the certificate is issued. • Issuer Name. The name of the CA that issued the certificate. • Expiry Time. The date after which the certificate becomes invalid. 8-8 Managing Users, Authentication, and Certificates v1.0, October 2008

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ProSafe Wireless-N VPN Firewall SRXN3205 Reference Manual
8-8
Managing Users, Authentication, and Certificates
v1.0, October 2008
Managing Certificates
The firewall uses digital certificates to authenticate connecting VPN gateways or clients, and to be
authenticated by remote entities. A certificate that authenticates a server, for example, is a file that
contains:
A public encryption key to be used by clients for encrypting messages to the server.
Information identifying the operator of the server.
A digital signature confirming the identity of the operator of the server. Ideally, the signature is
from a trusted third party whose identity can be verified absolutely.
You can obtain a certificate from a well-known commercial Certificate Authority (CA) such as
Verisign or Thawte, or you can generate and sign your own certificate. Because a commercial CA
takes steps to verify the identity of an applicant, a certificate from a commercial CA provides a
strong assurance of the server’s identity. A self-signed certificate will trigger a warning from most
browsers as it provides no protection against identity theft of the server.
Your firewall contains a self-signed certificate from NETGEAR. We recommend that you replace
this certificate prior to deploying the firewall in your network.
From the
VPN > Certificates
main menu/submenu, you can view the currently loaded certificates,
upload a new certificate and generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR). Your firewall will
typically hold two types of certificates:
CA certificate. Each CA issues its own CA identity certificate in order to validate
communication with the CA and to verify the validity of certificates signed by the CA.
Self certificate. The certificate issued to you by a CA identifying your device.
Viewing and Loading CA Certificates
The Trusted Certificates (CA Certificates) table lists the certificates of CAs and contains the
following data:
CA Identity (Subject Name)
. The organization or person to whom the certificate is issued.
Issuer Name
. The name of the CA that issued the certificate.
Expiry Time
. The date after which the certificate becomes invalid.