Are you allowed to drive the nation's highways without a drivers license? No, of course not. Would you purchase a diamond without verification it's genuine and possesses quality to match the price? Probably not. Can you travel overseas without a passport? Again, the answer is no.

Like in other walks of life, being able to verify the authenticity of someone or something is an important concept to networked communications. For example, the consequences of either the wrong user connecting to the right system or the right user connecting to the wrong system can be disastrous.

The topic I have chosen, digital certificates, provide a solution to this "identity crisis". Someday soon, many of the resources of both public and private networks may not be available to you without them.

Click on the links above for more information on digital certificates.