> *shrug* it doesn't retroactively enforce the safety net - but that's ok, > most MS products don't either :)
The whole point is to enhance common practice, not stay at the lowest common denominator. > Key management and auditing is pretty much external to the actual software > regardless of which solution you use I would have thought. You'd be wrong. :) I did just download and use XCA for a little bit. It's practically impossible to audit. Every key in the database is protected with the same password. The system ask for the password as soon as it starts up. If I leave the program running while I leave my computer, I'm screwed. The key-holder isn't asked to confirm each signing -- there's no *ceremony* -- and they never enter the password after the program starts. For any kind of root these are all very bad. XCA is pretty nice for a Level-2 or small Level-1 CA. The template management, etc., is pretty good. (Having them tied to the key database, and having the keys be unlocked while making cert requests, are both real bad ideas, however.) /r$ -- Rich Salz Chief Security Architect DataPower Technology http://www.datapower.com XS40 XML Security Gateway http://www.datapower.com/products/xs40.html XML Security Overview http://www.datapower.com/xmldev/xmlsecurity.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]