XCA

Specialized activities are best kept under control, and this can be done by limiting access and usability to only those owning particular keys. XCA is a software program that has been developed in order to help you create and manage X.509 certificates, certificate requests, RSA, DSA and EC private keys, Smartcards and CRLs.

The interface of this program is user friendly, displaying a Menu Bar on the upper side of the main window followed by several tabs, in which you can create private keys, certificates, templates and requests and so on.

Although the interface looks easy to use, that does not actually mean that beginners will know what they are doing when pushing certain buttons, due to the lingo that is used in the program to define the specialty elements you get to work with.

When opening a new database, the program requires you to input a password, so it can encrypt the private keys within it. It is a good idea to remember this one, because it will be the default password. This means that every time you want to open this particular database, you have to enter this passkey.

Another nice feature that is worth mentioning is the ability to import and export all the data structures (keys, certificates, templates) in several file formats such as PEM, DER, and PKCS. Import functions are available in each management tab, letting you create groups based on a variety of existing data files.

XCA is a helpful application that can help you with creating and managing X.509 certificates, certificate requests, RSA, DSA and EC private keys, Smartcards and CRLs. Although the interface is intuitive, it does not necessarily mean that beginners can use this program, due to the lingo.