apache/docs/manual/ssl/ssl_glossary.wml

#use "ssl_template.inc" title="Glossary" tag=gloss num=7

<page_prev name="F.A.Q. List" url="ssl_faq.html">

<quotation width=300 author="Richard Nixon">
``I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you
realize that what you heard is not what I meant.''
</quotation>

<dl>

<dt><div id="term">Authentication</div>
<dd>The positive identification of a network entity such as a server, a
    client, or a user. In SSL context the server and client
    <em>Certificate</em> verification process.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Access Control</div>
<dd>The restriction of access to network realms. In Apache context
    usually the restriction of access to certain <em>URLs</em>.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Algorithm</div>
<dd>An unambiguous formula or set of rules for solving a problem in a finite
    number of steps. Algorithms for encryption are usually called <em>Ciphers</em>. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Certificate</div>
<dd>A data record used for authenticating network entities such 
    as a server or a client. A certificate contains X.509 information pieces
    about its owner (called the subject) and the signing <em>Certificate
    Authority</em> (called the issuer), plus the owner's public key and the
    signature made by the CA. Network entities verify these signatures using
    CA certificates. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Certification Authority (CA)</div>
<dd>A trusted third party whose purpose is to sign certificates for network
    entities it has authenticated using secure means. Other network entities
    can check the signature to verify that a CA has authenticated the bearer
    of a certificate. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Certificate Signing Request (CSR)</div>
<dd>An unsigned certificate for submission to a <em>Certification Authority</em>,
    which signs it with the <em>Private Key</em> of their CA <em>Certificate</em>. Once
    the CSR is signed, it becomes a real certificate. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Cipher</div>
<dd>An algorithm or system for data encryption. Examples are DES, IDEA, RC4, etc.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Ciphertext</div>
<dd>The result after a <em>Plaintext</em> passed a <em>Cipher</em>.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Configuration Directive</div>
<dd>A configuration command that controls one or more aspects of a program's
    behavior. In Apache context these are all the command names in the first
    column of the configuration files.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">CONNECT</div>
<dd>A HTTP command for proxying raw data channels over HTTP. It can be used to
    encapsulate other protocols, such as the SSL protocol. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Digital Signature</div>
<dd>An encrypted text block that validates a certificate or other file. A
    <em>Certification Authority</em> creates a signature by generating a
    hash of the <em>Public Key</em> embedded in a <em>Certificate</em>, then
    encrypting the hash with its own <em>Private Key</em>.  Only the CA's
    public key can decrypt the signature, verifying that the CA has
    authenticated the network entity that owns the <em>Certificate</em>. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Export-Crippled</div>
<dd>Diminished in cryptographic strength (and security) in order to comply
    with the United States' Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
    Export-crippled cryptographic software is limited to a small key size,
    resulting in <em>Ciphertext</em> which usually can be decrypted by brute
    force. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Fully-Qualified Domain-Name (FQDN)</div>
<dd>The unique name of a network entity, consisting of a hostname and a domain
    name that can resolve to an IP address. For example, <code>www</code> is a
    hostname, <code>whatever.com</code> is a domain name, and
    <code>www.whatever.com</code> is a fully-qualified domain name. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)</div>
<dd>The HyperText Transport Protocol is the standard transmission protocol used
    on the World Wide Web. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">HTTPS</div>
<dd>The HyperText Transport Protocol (Secure), the standard encrypted
    communication mechanism on the World Wide Web. This is actually just HTTP
    over SSL.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Message Digest</div>
<dd>A hash of a message, which can be used to verify that the contents of
    the message have not been altered in transit. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">OpenSSL</div>
<dd>The Open Source toolkit for SSL/TLS; 
    see <a href="http://www.openssl.org/">http://www.openssl.org/</a>
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Pass Phrase</div>
<dd>The word or phrase that protects private key files.
    It prevents unauthorized users from encrypting them.  Usually it's just
    the secret encryption/decryption key used for <em>Ciphers</em>.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Plaintext</div>
<dd>The unencrypted text.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Private Key</div>
<dd>The secret key in a <em>Public Key Cryptography</em> system, used to
    decrypt incoming messages and sign outgoing ones. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Public Key</div>
<dd>The publically available key in a <em>Public Key Cryptography</em> system, used to
    encrypt messages bound for its owner and to decrypt signatures made by its
    owner. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Public Key Cryptography</div>
<dd>The study and application of asymmetric encryption systems, which use one
    key for encryption and another for decryption. A corresponding pair of
    such keys constitutes a key pair. Also called Asymmetric Crypography.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)</div>
<dd>A protocol created by Netscape Communications Corporation for
    general communication authentication and encryption over TCP/IP networks.
    The most popular usage is <em>HTTPS</em>, i.e. the HyperText Transfer
    Protocol (HTTP) over SSL.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Session</div>
<dd>The context information of an SSL communication.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">SSLeay</div>
<dd>The original SSL/TLS implementation library developed by 
    Eric A. Young &lt;eay@aus.rsa.com&gt;;
    see <a href="http://www.ssleay.org/">http://www.ssleay.org/</a>
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Symmetric Cryptography</div>
<dd>The study and application of <em>Ciphers</em> that use a single secret key
    for both encryption and decryption operations. 
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Transport Layer Security (TLS)</div>
<dd>The successor protocol to SSL, created by the Internet Engineering Task
    Force (IETF) for general communication authentication and encryption over
    TCP/IP networks. TLS version 1 and is nearly identical with SSL version 3.
<p>
<dt><div id="term">Uniform Resource Locator (URL)</div>
<dd>The formal identifier to locate various resources on the World Wide Web.
    The most popular URL scheme is <code>http</code>. SSL uses the
    scheme <code>https</code>
<p>
<dt><div id="term">X.509</div>
<dd>An authentication certificate scheme recommended by the International
    Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) which is used for SSL/TLS authentication. 
</dl>