Java and Security Certificates Issue

Maria Korotkova (etxkoro@kk.etx.ericsson.se)
Thu, 01 Oct 1998 11:30:20 +0200

Hello,

I would like your response to the following issue regarding the use
of Java applets/plug-ins and security
certificates.

We wish to distribute two "applets" (in form of an applet and a
second application as a plug-in) to multiple
and different clients. We wish to know if we can set things up so
that the client can accept the security
certificate automatically with a minimum of effort. Is it possible to
create a pop-up screen, as used with
some HTTPS certificates, with the user clicking just click YES to
accept the certificate?

Currently, we can get the applets accepted if we have the JDK
installed on the client machine (and then
set up the correct information or have copied the identitydb.obj file
directly onto a machine). However, this
is not a practical solution for multiple users. The copying of the
identitydb.obj file is also a very "brute" force
way of installation as it may destroy other certificates from other
sources.

Is it possible to achieve this automation at this time, if not when
it will be possible? Obviously, this may
also be dependant on browser development.

We are using Java Plug-in 1.1.1, JDK 1.1.6 and the latest versions of
Netscape Communicator and
Microsoft Explorer. Java files signed using instructions at:
http://java.sun.com/security/signExamples.html.
We wish to distribute a signed Java Plug-in JAR and signed Java
applet JAR.

Our main motivation for requiring the certificate is to allow
multiple threads to be launched by the applet to
act independantly of the current browser window - i.e. user can
browse away from the launch page and
the applet will still function in the background.

Thanks in advance.

Maria Korotkova

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Maria Korotkova etxkoro@kk.etx.ericsson.se Ericsson Datacom & IP Services Work: +46 8 719 54 79 KK/ETX/DN/WR Fax: +46 8 719 66 00 S-126 25 Stockholm Mobil: 070 424 20 64 __________________________________________________________