This chapter is an introduction to the fundamentals of cryptography. It explains how cryptography is used to create public key-based security solutions using certificates and how Microsoft Windows 2000 exposes public key functionality to both users and developers. The chapter isn't intended as a complete tutorial on the intricate details of cryptography. That's the subject of numerous excellent books, some of which are listed in the bibliography. Instead, the chapter will discuss the use of pragmatic cryptography in Windows 2000, from cryptographic basics to the use of certificates and the cryptographic and certificate technologies and products included in Windows 2000.
The topics covered include
If you already understand cryptography and how it's used to solve specific security problems, you might want to skip the next section and go straight to "The Basics of Certificates."