In an increasingly digitalized world, all the procedures and transactions we carry out become simpler and more immediate. The advantages of this are undeniable, although they are not without risks. The importance of protecting the digital footprint (also called digital trace or online signature) is essential for our security. In this article we are going to see What can be done to recover a fingerprint from a certificate.
This digital fingerprint must be able to offer us the guarantee that no one other than its owner, that is, us, will be able to access and use it. That’s why It is essential to have protection that prevents any cybercriminal expert from getting hold of it and impersonating our identity.
As is always said in these cases, absolute security does not exist, although it is in our hands to take all precautions to make things as difficult as possible for hackers. On the one hand, there is the golden rule of not sharing passwords or sensitive data with anyone, come on, always apply common sense; On the other hand, we have at our disposal the basic security tools that we have the obligation to use, for our own good.
Once we have the digital certificate, all we have to do is install it in our browser, so that it is ready to be used on web pages that allow us to carry out online procedures safely.
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The digital signature
Precisely the digital signature It is one of these essential tools. This is the most basic way of using the fingerprint that we referred to at the beginning of the post. Thanks to the application of a series of algorithms, any document that we are going to send over the Internet will be protected by the digital signature: the insurance that its content is original and has not been modified.
However, the signature is only one of the forms of application of the digital certificatethe file that, through the use of a certain computer program, makes it possible to seal and protect any document.
Methods to recover the certificate fingerprint
We analyze two scenarios: when we have lost access to the certificate because we have changed devices or, when we have not made any changes, due to access or display problems.
When we have changed devices
It is a very common case: for example, we buy a new computer and the certificate remains stored in the old one. The way to recover it is relatively simple, especially if we still have access to the previous device. This is what can be done:
- Copy the file to a USB to install it on the new computer.
- Send ourselves the Digital Certificate by email and download it from the new device. Another means such as Google Drive, WeTransfer or similar may also work.
If we do not have access to the old equipment, the only possible way to recover is to cancel the certificate and request it again.
When we have not changed devices
The most common problems in these cases have to do with certificate access errors: It does not appear in our files or, although it does appear, when accessing it it gives us an error. The solution is to find a backup copy of it, either in the “Documents” folder or through a general search throughout the computer.
Password problems
Sometimes, we cannot recover the fingerprint of a certificate for a reason as simple as we don’t remember what the password is. At this point we must remember that, depending on the type of certificate, there can be up to three passwords: the main one, the private key and the private key password.
Additionally, each type of certificate establishes a different procedure for recovering lost passwords. It’s not always the same and it doesn’t always work. A mess. In these situations, the easiest way is revoke the current certificate and request a new one.
Recover the fingerprint of a WCF certificate step by step
Many users use the Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) digital certificates. This is a very specific type of certificate, called X.509, which offers a number of additional advantages. One of them is that, in case you lose it, there is a fairly simple and effective recovery mode. We explain it below:
- First we are going to Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and there we open the certificates plugin.
- In the options in the left column, we click on Certificates (Local Computer).
- We expand the options by first clicking on the folder Staff and then in the folder Certificates.
- We select the certificate from which we want to recover the fingerprint by double clicking on it.
- In the dialog box that opens, go to the tab Details.
- Finally, there we click on Fingerprintl.
- The last step consists of copy hexadecimal characters shown in the box, ignoring the spaces between the characters. That is the code we will use to recover the fingerprint.