Re: Thawte

From: Ben Kennedy (ben@zygoat.ca)
Date: Mon Sep 09 2002 - 21:21:10 EDT


On 09.09.2002 at 8:37 pm -0400, Xen0nine@aol.com wrote:

>Or alternatively
>why should it not be centered around the host who handles and is really the
>one who has ultimate access and in who's trust the merchant or other hosted
>client has to trust with any security sensitive information?

This has precisely been the question I've always had for the past oh 8
years or so that I've been aware of digital certificates w/rt https. It
seemed like such a stupid (obvious) question that I have always assumed
that there was something about the system that I was not grasping.

The reason I (as an enterprise who sells services to people about the
world) have an interest in digital certificates and https is to provide a
secure channel for my customers and I to pass data to one another. I
don't much give a rat's ass about whether Joe Third-Party Company
considers me trustworthy or not; the only issue is whether my customer
and I choose to trust each other. If we choose to, then we would like a
secure channel of communication.

My fundamental simple question on the subject: given that it's so easy
(and cheap, i.e., free) for me to provide secure shell access to my
clients, how can I do the same for HTTP connections, without having to
pay money to a third party that neither of us particularly cares about?

-ben

-- 
Ben Kennedy, chief magician
zygoat creative technical services
613-228-3392 | 1-866-466-4628
http://www.zygoat.ca



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