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If you send or receive email which has been signed or encrypted with your personal certificate, you will need to keep that certificate on your system even after it expires, in order to validate and read the email. If you experience difficulty accessing certificate-protected MIT web sites, you should export, then delete, your expired certificates.

Firefox on Athena, Linux, Macintosh, Windows

1. Launch Firefox.
2. Follow the menu path according to your platform.
   Athena, Linux: Edit > Preferences > Advanced > Encryption > View Certificates > Your Certificates
   Macintosh: Firefox > Preferences > Advanced > Encryption > View Certificates > Your Certificates
   Windows: Tools > Options > Advanced > Encryption > View Certificates > Your Certificates
3. Select the certificate to back up. To select multiple certificates, hold down the Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Linux, Windows) key and click to select.
4. Click Backup (or Backup All to select all certificates).
5. When prompted, enter a filename and specify a location for the backed up certificates, then click Save.
6. When prompted, enter the master password used to protect your certificates and click OK.
7. When prompted, create and enter a Certificate backup password. Enter it again to confirm, then click OK.
   Note: Backed up certificates contain personal information and should be protected with a password. It should be different from your Kerberos password. The password quality meter will indicate the strength of the password entered; the higher the strength, the more secure the password.
8. In the Alert showing successful back up, click OK.
9. You may now delete the expired certificates.
   

Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP and Vista

1. Launch IE7.
2. Go to Tools > Internet Options > Content.
3. Click on the Certificates button and then on the Personal tab.
4. Select the certificate to export. To select multiple certificates, hold down the Ctrl key and click to select.
5. Click Export.
6. In the Certificate Export Wizard, click Next.
7. In the Export Private Key dialog, click Next.
8. In the Export File Format dialog, take the default, "DER encoded binary"; click Next.
   Note: For details on exporting a private key, if that option is available, and on certificate file formats, see "Export a certificate" in Windows Help and Support.
9. In the File to Export dialog, click Browse.
10. In the Save As dialog, specify a location for the exported file and enter a file name.
11. Click Save, then Next, then Finish.
    Result: A message appears confirming that export was successful.
12. You may now delete the expired certificates.
    

Mac OS X Using Keychain Access

1. Launch Keychain Access: [Macintosh HD] / Applications / Utilities / Keychain Acess.app
2. Under Category (left-hand panel), click My Certificates.
   Result: Your personal certificates are listed.
3. Select the certificate to export. To select multiple certificates, hold down the Command and click to select.
4. From the File menu select:
   Mac OS X 10.5: Export Items
   Mac OS X 10.4: Export
   
   
5. In Save As, enter a filename and specify a location for the exported certificates, then click Save.
6. When prompted, enter and verify a password for exporting, then click OK. (If your Keychain is locked, you will be prompted to unlock it by entering your Mac account password.)
   Note: Exported certificates contain personal information and should be protected with a password. It should be different from your Kerberos password. The password quality meter will indicate the strength of the password entered; the higher the strength, the more secure the password.
7. In the dailog box Keychain Access wants to export... enter your Macintosh account password (or keychain login password, if different), then click:
   Mac OS X 10.5: Allow
   Mac OS X 10.4: Allow Once
   Result: The certificates you selected are exported from your Keychain into a file that is protected with the password entered in step 6. If this password is forgotten, you will not be able to open the exported certificates, or read email signed or encrypted under those certificates.
8. You may now delete the expired certificates.
   

Getting Help

• Athena users: Athena Consulting
• Linux, Macintosh, or Windows users: Service Desk

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