What is the Certificates Snap-in?
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
The Certificates snap-in is the primary tool for users and administrators to view and manage certificates for a user, computer, or service.
The Certificates snap-in allows the user to request, renew, find, view, move, copy, and delete certificates.
Why use the Certificates snap-in
The Certificates snap-in is a versatile tool for managing certificates for a user, computer, or service. It can be used to find out what certificates are stored on a computer, where they are stored, or the configuration options for those certificates.
In addition, using the Certificates snap-in, the user can launch wizards that simplify the tasks of:
Enrolling for new certificates
Renewing existing certificates
Finding certificates
Importing certificates
Exporting or backing up certificates
In most cases, users do not have to personally manage their certificates and their certificate stores. That can be accomplished by administrators, by policy settings, and through programs that use certificates.
Administrators are the primary users of the Certificates snap-in and, as such, they are able to perform a wide variety of certificate management tasks in their personal certificate store as well as the certificate stores for any computer or service that they have the right to administer. Users can only manage certificates in their personal store.
For information about certificates and how to use the Certificates snap-in, see the following topics: