Certificates & Online Security

When using sites which require you to login, or when using on-line shopping, it is important to know that the information you submit is secure. Epiphany offers a number of features to help you do this.

9.1. Identifying Secure Sites

When viewing web pages, Epiphany displays a padlock icon in the statusbar which shows you whether the current site is secure.

An unlocked padlock

Indicates that this site is insecure.

A locked padlock

Indicates that this site is secure.

A broken padlock

Indicates that some parts of this page are secure, and others are not. You should consider the page as a whole to be insecure.

For secure sites, there is an additional locked padlock icon in the address entry, and the address entry has a different background color.

9.2. Using Certificate Viewer

The certificate viewer presents the details held within the certificate. Open the certificate viewer by clicking one of the two padlock icons, or by choosing View ▸ Page Security Infomation. The General tab provides the following details:

Common Name

Shows either who issued the certificate, or the domain to which it was issued.

Organisation

Shows the name of the issuing company, or the name of the company to which is was issued.

Organisational Unit

Shows the division of the company which issued or received the certificate.

Serial Number

A unique identifier for this certificate.

Issued On

The date the certificate was issued.

Expires On

The date the certificate expires.

SHA1 Fingerprint

An identifying string for this certificate. You can check with the issuing company that this string matches the certificate on their records.

MD5 Fingerprint

An identifying string for this certificate. You can check with the issuing company that this string matches the certificate on their records.

The Details tab shows the following information:

Certificate Hierarchy

Some certificates are signed by intermediate authorities who are in turn signed by an authority at a higher level. This list displays the complete certificate chain.

Certificate Fields

Displays the fields as they appear in the certificate for the selected certificate in the hierarchy.

Field Value

Displays the value for the selected certificate field.