To change the trust status of a digital ID

When you import someone's digital ID into your address book, it has a "trust status" associated with it. Trust status indicates whether you trust the individual, the group, or the corporation to whom the certificate is issued. The default trust status in Outlook Express is "Inherit trust from issuer," meaning that the digital ID is trusted because the issuer (for example, a certifying authority) is trusted.

However, not all digital IDs come from certifying authorities. If a digital ID is created by individuals, you might not want to trust it automatically. Or, if a digital ID owner warns you that he or she suspects someone has tampered with the digital ID's private key, you may want to change the trust status to "Explicit Distrust."

1. In the Address Book, double-click the name of the contact.

2. Click the Digital IDs tab, select the digital ID whose trust level you want to change, and then click Properties.

3. Click the Trust tab, and then select an option in the Edit trust area.

Click Inherit trust from issuer when you want the trust level of the ID to be the same as the one associated with the issuer.

Click Explicitly trust this certificate when you want to trust the digital ID irrespective of whether you trust its issuer.

Click Explicitly distrust this certificate when you do not trust the type of digital ID, or the person or company it is associated with. Using this option is preferable to removing the certificate, because you will be warned that the mail contains an untrusted certificate.

Note

• For Help on an item, click at the top of the dialog box, and then click the item.

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