Viewing certificate information

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Viewing certificate information

Using Certificates, you can view information about the fields, extensions, and properties that define an issued certificate by double-clicking any certificate displayed in the certificate store.

To view this	Use this
Overview of the certificate information	General tab
Supported uses of the certificate	General tab
Entity to which the certificate was issued	General tab
Validity period of the certificate	General tab
Path of certificate to a trusted root certification authority	Certification path tab
Root certificate	Certification path tab
Subordinate certification authorities' certificates	Certification path tab
Whether root certification authority is trusted or not	Certification path tab
Certificate status	Certification path tab

The Details dialog box provides the following information about the certificate.

Certificate field	Description
Version	The X.509 version number.
Serial number	The unique serial number that the issuing certification authority assigns to the certificate. The serial number is unique for all certificates issued by a given certification authority.
Signature algorithm	The hash algorithm that the certification authority uses to digitally sign the certificate.
Issuer	Information regarding the certification authority that issued the certificate.
Valid from	The beginning date for the period in which the certificate is valid.
Valid to	The final date for the period in which the certificate is valid.
Subject	The name of the individual or certification authority to whom the certificate is issued. If the issuing certification authority exists on a domain member server in your enterprise, this will be a distinguished name within the enterprise. Otherwise, this may be a full name and e-mail name or some other personal identifier.
Public key	The public key type and length associated with the certificate.
Thumbprint algorithm	The hash algorithm that generates a digest of data (or thumbprint) for digital signatures.
Thumbprint	The digest (or thumbprint) of the certificate data.
Friendly name	(Optional) A friendly, or common, name for the name in the Subject field.
Enhanced key usage	(Optional) The purposes for which this certificate can be used.

There are additional possible X.509v3 extensions that could be in a certificate. If they are present, they will be displayed as well.

For the procedure that shows how to see the properties of a certificate, see View a certificate.