L4 · IDENTITY AND TRUST
Read a real certificate
Open this site's certificate in your browser and read who it names, who issued it, and how long it lasts.
Guided exercise
Steps
Open the site information for this page from your browser's address bar, then open the certificate viewer.
What to look for: Most browsers show a site controls or padlock icon beside the address. The certificate viewer is usually under Connection or Security.
Find the subject alternative names.
What to look for: These are the names the certificate is valid for. The name in your address bar must appear there, or the browser rejects the connection.
Find the issuer and the validity dates.
What to look for: The issuer is the certificate authority that signed it. Publicly trusted certificates are valid for months, not years.
Open the certificate hierarchy or path.
What to look for: The chain runs from this certificate through an intermediate to a root that your system already trusts.
How it works
This is a guided exercise. There is nothing to submit, because the answers would only test copying. Compare what you find with the notes beside each step.