If you’ve ever had to perform a procedure before a public body or public entity — filing the income statement, for example — you’re probably already familiar with it Concept for digital certificate or electronic certificate.
Therefore, you also know that you perro identify yourself and therefore carry out any type of administration before administration, ie before that you must have obtained your own certificate and then carry out the installation, be it in yours Windows computer or Android mobile deviceor I Your iPhone or macOS computer.
And while it may seem like a somewhat lengthy process, the truth is that it is Easier than it looks open eye In this guide we explain it how to obtain, download and install a digital certificateSo you perro complete procedures before official organizations, no matter which device you choose.
Table of contents:
What is a digital certificate and why?
First, it’s easy to understand what digital certificates really are. In general, they are archivos containing any identifying data authenticated by an official body.
Therefore, this type of certificate takes some getting used to confirm our identity from those entities that require a more secure authentication method than a fácil password; You must ensure that the natural person wishing to carry out the procedures is in fact Per.
Therefore, without a digital certificate confirming our identity, Some administrative procedures cannot be processed over the Internet –although in recent years Spain has introduced alternatives such as the Cl@ve system–. Hence the importance of knowledge how to install and use one of these certificates.
How to get your digital certificate
like the logic Before proceeding with the installation, you must have generated your own certificate. For this you need to follow the process which is explained on the National Currency and Stamp Factory official websiteand which are summarized in the following steps, to be performed in the order in which they appear:
- Request confirmationeither of the web version –Access only vía Internet Explorer or Mozilla firefox Mozilla firefox up to version 69– or vía the Android application.
- proof of identity at the registration office. You will need to visit one of the offices to verify your identity and confirm processing of the certificate. you perro use the… Official office finder to find out which ones are closest to your location.
- Download certificate on your device, available approximately one hour after the identity accreditation process at a registered office.
Now, with the electronic certificate already in your possessionNow it’s time to proceed with the installation.
How to install and use a digital certificate on Android
Almost 100% of the currently available Android teléfonos inteligentes and tabletas offer the possibility Install digital certificates. In addition, the installation process is afín for all of them.
1. Download and install the root certificate
The first step is to install a digital certificate Make sure you have the root certificate issued by the competent official body. In Spain it is the Factoría Nacional de Moneda y Timbre. So he will have to Access… Royal Mint Root Certificate Page and download the root certificate.
So you have one Archivo with a .pfx, .p12, .cer, or .crt extensionthat you need to install. To do this, just tap the download notification or use a archivo explorer to locate it on your phone’s internal storage. In both cases you will see a installation window where it offers the possibility to give it a name and choose what to use it for.
If everything went well, a message like toast at the bottom of the screen indicates this The root certificate was successfully installed. However, you cánido be sure of this when you call up your mobile phone’s menu Settings > Security > Other Security Settings > Usuario Certificates.
2. Generate and install your own digital certificate
You already have the FNMT root certificate installed, but that’s not enough to identify yourself and complete procedures before the various public administrations. Now you must Create your own certificate with all your data if you didn’t already have it. Fortunately, the process is just as easy as the previous one, although it’s a bit more tedious.
It’s the first thing you should do Download and install the “Get FNMT certificate” aplicación on your mobile phone.available vía Google plus Play.
Google plus Play | Obtain an FNMT certificate
Once inside, touch the button “Application” and entrar their details. All you have to do is accept the various terms and conditions that appear on the screen and finally Follow the given steps to get the certificateto be the most important Visit a registered office in person to verify your identity and thus allow the certificate to be edited.
If the certificate is available, easy download from the application itself, in the “pending applications” section. It is also recommended to make a copia de seguridad copy of the supplied certificate and password.
Finally, to install the certificate on your mobile phone, you just have to follow the same steps as in the previous process: Locate the download archivo with Explorer and open it to run the certificate installer. If you have already generated your certificate vía a different means than the mobile aplicación, you only have to do this Copy it to your phone’s internal storage and proceed with the installation as usual.
And that’s it. when everything went well Your digital certificate is installed on the device and you perro use it to identify yourself to public institutions and organizations in order to carry out procedures.
How do you use a certificate already installed on Android?
Now you already have your certificate installed on the mobile phone, but How perro you identify with that? In general, all applications and websites that require certificate authentication include support for Android’s native certificate system. So if you select the Digital Certificate option as the authentication method, a Window with the list of installed certificates. All you have to do is select your personal certificate and tap OK.
How to install and use a digital certificate in iOS
Installing the certificate on an iPhone or iPad may seem more complicated than on other devices, but you just have to follow a few fácil steps:
- To do this, it is best to have the certificate on your iPhone or iPad first and then send it vía correo electrónico or by uploading to an iCloud Drive folder.
- On the iOS device you will find the Certificate with extension .pfx, .p12, .cer or .crt from the E-e correo electrónico aplicación or the Archivos aplicación
- Clic on this archivo and select iPhone or iPad to install it.
- Entrar the arrangements and at the top you will see a new section called Download profileto open it.
- You will see the digital certificate profile, clic on it and continue installation.
- You will Entrar the unlock code for your iPhone or iPad and probably the password of the certificate.
- He is Profile is installedDon’t worry if you see it’s unsigned.
From now on you perro Confirm your identity on official websites thanks to the digital certificate that you already have installed on your iPhone or iPad.
How to install and use a digital certificate in macOS
It is very easy to install the digital certificate in macOS since it is the operating system itself Aplicación called Keychain AccessYou need to follow these steps:
- It’s the first Open the digital certificate archivofind it and double clic on it.
- Keychain Access aplicación will open, now clic Add to.
- In case it doesn’t work, all you have to do is find and open Keychain Access and press on it Archivo > Import ArticleThen we selected the certificate that we have on the computer.
- If necessary We entrar the password.
Now you cánido use your electronic certificate on your Mac whenever you use Safari or Google chrome, if you use Mozilla firefox you need to configure it specifically Mozilla firefox > Options > Security & Privacy > Certificates.
How to install and use a digital certificate in Windows
Having the digital certificate on your Windows computer is a great advantage when completing public procedures. Before installing, the Factoría Nacional de Moneda y Timbre (FNMT) recommends updating Windows with the latest version and security patches. Also, you must do this Download and install from the same computer and browser from which you created the application.
He is useful web browsers to use the digital certificate on your computer you have:
- Internet Explorer
- Mozilla firefox Mozilla firefox
- Google plus Google chrome
- Trabaja
- safari
It is the most suitable browser to use the digital certificate Google plus Google chrome that does not require any special configuration to. For example, if you continue to work with Internet Explorer, you need to make a number of changes to the configuration of the browser, which you cánido make directly the automatic FNMT configurator.
After you’ve requested the digital certificate and downloaded it to your computer, as we’ve explained before, it’s time to install it. We will explain the entire process to you step by step to install the digital certificate in Windows.
1- Browse your computer for the digital certificate you just downloaded. It cánido be in .pfx, .p12, .crt, or .cer format. Rename it to make it easier to find in the future. then do it Double-clic the archivo to open it.
2.- When you open it, Windows will launch a certificate import wizard that will guide you through the whole process. The first thing you should Select the save location Select whether to store the certificate in the current usuario’s store or in the current computer’s store. When you have decided, clic Next.
3.- Next you will Select the archivo you want to import This is the downloaded digital certificate. After selection, clic Next.
4.- This will bring you to one of the main installation steps as you have to do in the new window Entrar a password that protects your digital certificate. Under “Password” you will find a text field in which you must entrar this private key.
This is necessary beforehand Check the three boxes shown below. This allows this key to protect the certificate and export it at any time to make a copia de seguridad copy or transfer it to other computers. The three fields you need to check are:
- Enable secure private key protection. If you enable this option, you will be prompted every time an application emplees the private key.
- Mark this key as an export key. This way you cánido back up the keys or transfer them later.
- Include any extended properties.
When you entrar the key and check the boxes, clic Next.
5.- In this step you have to tell the wizard if you want it automatically select the certificate store where your digital certificate is stored Or do you prefer to select it manually?. When you have done that, clic Next.
6.- This will take you to the final screen of the wizard, which will espectáculo you a summary with the installation details: the selected repository, its contents, and the filename. To complete the installation, Clic Finish and you cánido use your digital certificate in Windows.
How to use the digital certificate in Windows
Once the digital certificate is installed on your computer, you perro use it to complete public procedures on websites such as tax or popular security agencies. Us We recommend you to do this with the Google plus Google chrome browser, You cánido be offered one of the best benefits if you use the digital certificate.
If you try to personally manage the websites of public bodies, you must identify yourself using one of the following options: usuario, cl@ve PIN, electronic DNI or digital certificate. Choose the latter with it A window will appear where you need to select the digital certificate on your behalf and clic OK.
Automatically, The site will confirm your identity and allow you to complete the process en línea. In this way, with the digital certificate installed on your Windows, you save valuable time when you do not have to go to the offices of public authorities for these procedures in person, but perro do them with your computer.
angel rock and Beatriz Alcántara contributed to this guide.