UTPA Digital ID

UTPA has implemented the use of Digital Certificates to further secure its email transactions. Internet transactions & communications are not limited by the physical location of the sending & receiving parties. Traditional methods of physically viewing the person you are talking to, & therefore identifying them, do not apply over the internet. Digital certificates are used to "prove" the identity of the people involved, so that both parties can be sure of whom they are receiving information from.

The core aim of using digital certificates is to identify people. A digital certificate is an electronic "certificate" that contains information about a user & can be used to verify who the user is. Each digital certificate is digitally signed by a Certificate Authority. Here at UTPA, our certificate authority is VeriSign. The Certificate Authority is responsible for identifying the user, & by signing the certificate, is stating that the user has been identified & is who they say they are.

Digital certificates are used to identify users when they conduct transactions electronically. Someone who receives information from a digital certificate user may not actually know the person, but can trust that the person is who they say they are, if they trust the Certificate Authority who identified the user. This tutorial is a step-by-step guide to requesting, installing & using a digital certificate with our current email system. It's recommended that all UTPA employees use a digital certificate with their email client.

Digital Certificate Request

  1. Click here & fill out the VeriSign Enrollment Form.
  2. Once your request is received by the UTPA Information Security office, you will receive a phone call to verify your identity & an email will be sent to you with a link to download your digital ID.
  3. Follow the instructions in the email to complete the request.

NOTE: You must have administrative access to your computer in order to the install the digital certificate. If you're not sure about your level of access, are having trouble installing the digital certificate, or have questions about the digital certificate, please call the UTPA IT HelpDesk at x2020.

Installing Digital Certificates

  1. Verify that the Digital Certificate installed correctly using the following steps:
    • Using Internet Explorer only, click Tools - Internet Options - Content
    • Click Certificates - Personal & your Digital Certificate should appear there
    • Verify that the certificate shows your full name, the university's name & expiration date
      • Certificates
  2. Export your Digital Certificate using the following steps:
    • Select your Digital Certificate & click Export
      • Wizard
    • On the 'Welcome to the Certificate Export Wizard' screen click Next
      • Export
    • On the 'Export Private Key' screen select "No, do not export the private key" & click Next
      • Format
    • On the 'Export File Format' screen select "DER encoded binary X.509 (.CER)" & click Next
      • Browse
    • On the 'File to Export' screen click Browse, select My Documents, type a filename & click Save
      • Export
    • On the 'File to Export' screen click Next, then Finish, then OK & close all open windows
    • Your Digital Certificate is now installed & ready for use with Microsoft Outlook
  3. Publish your Digital Certificate to the Global Address List using the following steps:
    • Open Microsoft Outlook
    • Click Tools - Options - Security
      • My S/MIME Settings
    • Your Digital Certificate should appear in the 'Default Settings:' textbox or in the drop-down menu
    • If necessary, select your Digital Certificate from the drop-down menu
    • Click 'Publish to GAL'
      • Publish to GAL
    • Click OK on the following 3 dialog boxes
    • Microsoft Outlook is now setup to digitally sign & encrypt all outgoing emails

NOTE: If your Digital Certificate doesn't appear in Microsoft Outlook, follow the steps in the next section***

***Importing your Digital Certificate to Microsoft Outlook

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook
  2. Click Tools - Options - Security
  3. Click 'Import/Export'
  4. On the 'Import/Export Digital ID' screen click Browse
  5. Click 'My Documents', then 'Files of type:', then "All Files (*.*)" & locate your Digital Certificate filename
    6. Password
  6. Select your Digital Certificate, type the password & the full name you used to apply for your certificate
  7. Click OK then 'Publish to GAL' & click OK on the following 3 dialog boxes

NOTE: The 'Digitally Sign Message' & 'Encrypt Message Contents and Attachments' buttons should appear in the toolbar when you create a new email message. Encryption of outgoing email messages only works if the recipient has their Digital Certificate published to the GAL. Otherwise, you can't encrypt the email message.

    New Email Message