This exercise shows you how to use the Certificate Import Wizard to import the certificate that you exported in the previous exercise.
- Start the Certificate Import Wizard by right-clicking the Personal certificate storage folder and selecting All Tasks > Import.
- Skip the introductory page by clicking its Next button.
- On the File To Import page, provide the full path and filename of the certificate file that you exported in the previous exercise, and then click the Next button. Alternatively, you can browse to the file by selecting the Browse button. You can import certificates in three formats:
- PKCS#12 (.PFX or .P12) files are used to store certificates with their associated private keys. Outlook, Outlook Express, and Netscape’s tools all produce PKCS#12 files when you export a certificate, as do many third-party PKI components.
- PKCS#7 (.P7B, .P7C, or .CRT) files are used to store certificates without keys. A PKCS#7 file can contain an entire certificate chain (including CA certificates) or just a certificate—the application that creates the file gets to decide what goes in it. Almost every PKI component that runs on Windows can produce PKCS#7 files.
- Microsoft’s own SST format, which is sparsely used.
- The Certificate Store page allows you to choose the store in which you want to put the certificate. Choose the Automatically Select The Certificate Store Based On The Type Of Certificate radio button and click Next.
- The Completing the Certificate Import Wizard page is displayed. Click Finish to actually import the certificate. You’ll get a dialog box indicating whether the import attempt succeeded or not.
