IS&T recommends deleting expired certificates for the following reasons:
- Internet Explorer on Windows: It is difficult to tell which certificate is expired.
- Safari: An expired MIT personal certificate may interfere with accessing certificate-protected websites, even if you have an unexpired certificate.
- Firefox on all platforms: Unexpired and expired personal certificates can coexist.
Warning: If you send or receive email which has been signed or encrypted with your personal certificate (S/MIME), you must keep that certificate on your system even after it expires, in order to validate and read your email.
Export your expired certificates from your browser to a backup file and delete them from your browser before you get new certificates.
Find out if you're using S/MIME.
Delete certificates from your browser
We strongly recommend using CertAid to manage the entire certificate setup and deletion procedure. The procedure includes installing the MIT CA and your personal certificate, deleting old certificates if you so choose, and setting the correct identity preferences via a single, graphical application.