SSL or Secure Socket Layer and TLS (Transport Layer Security) certificates come in a private and public key pair.    With this combination of keys, a web browser (client) that connects to a server can:

• Authenticate the identity of the server (a website, a domain name, server name or host name)

• Encrypts the data in transit between client and server.

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In web browsers, an established encrypted/secure connection will present as a padlock in the URL bar of the browser along with starting string of "https://".

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Client Certificates or Digital IDs are used to identify one user to another, a user to a machine, or a machine to another machine. One common example is digitally signing emails, where the sender digitally signs the communication, and the recipient verifies the signature.  Client certificates authenticates the sender and the recipient.

Client certificates also take the form of two-factor authentication when the user needs to access a protected database or arrives at the gateway to a payment portal, where they’ll be expected to enter their passwords and be subjected to further verification.

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Code Signing Certificates are used to digitally sign software or files that are downloaded over the internet.  The files are signed by the developer/publisher of the software. Their purpose is to guarantee that the software or file is genuine and comes from the publisher it claims to belong. They’re especially useful for publishers who distribute their software for download through third-party sites. Code signing certificates also act as a proof that the file hasn’t been tampered with since download.

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Information, Knowledge, and Technical Articles
What to know more?  Want to get into the specifics of certificates, cryptography, and security?   This section is the library or knowledge base of information.