Frequently asked questions

An electronic certificate is the electronic equivalent to a physical identity document, providing identification of its holder.

The certificate contains a public key and a private key which allows, through advanced mathematical operations, a document to be signed in a unique way and thus guarantees the identity of the signatory.

In addition to the owner's information, it contains, among other things:

• The identity of the Certification Authority that has issued it, as well as other related data.

• Certificate data: serial number, expiration date, allowed uses...

• The holder's public key.

• The private key that is used for signing.

• Certification Authority (CA): is the entity that issues the electronic certificate.

• Registration Authority (RA): person or entity delegated by the CA in charge of proving the identity of applicants as well as other functions within the process of issuing and managing electronic certificates.

• Subscriber: the person for whom the certificate is issued.

• Applicant: natural person requesting the issuance of the certificate.

Depending on the uses for which it is enabled for, a certificate can serve several purposes such as:

• Electronic user identity authentication.

• Electronic signature of documents, in order to guarantee the integrity of the signed document, as well as its provenance and the authenticity of origin.

• Encryption of data so that only the recipient of the document can access its content.

Its use will allow you to perform the following actions:

• Learn the identity of the sender and receiver of the information (authentication of the parties).

• That the message has not been tampered with during delivery (transaction integrity).

• That only sender and receiver see the information (confidentiality).

• That the owner of a message cannot deny that he actually signed it (non-repudiation).

Except for the DNIe, which cost depends on the renewal conditions as described in the official website of the DNIe, the rest of the admitted certificates have no cost for the user.

If we talk about an electronic certificate issued by a natural person, it is only possible to have one per Certification Authority.

See the electronic certificate page.

You can request a new one at the electronic certificate page.

When a signed document is received, two aspects must be checked:

• That the document is signed by the signer's certificate (verify that the signature has been generated with such certificate).

• That the certificate that signed the document is valid (verify with the CA if the signer's certificate was valid at the time of signing).

It is a signature that can be applied to electronic documents, having the same legal effectiveness as a handwritten signature on a paper document.

The electronic signature is obtained by applying a series of mathematical operations on the document to be signed. The ultimate goal being to associate the identity of the signer with such document.

This signature allows the signatory to be identified and any subsequent change to the signed data to be detected, since it is mathematically linked to both the document and the signatory.

The Law 59/2003, of December 19, on Electronic Signature regulates the electronic signature, its legal effectiveness and the provision of certification services.

Except for the DNIe, whose certificates can only be stored within a physical device, it is possible to save a copy of the certificate on the following media:

• Hardware support (recommended option): Store the certificate inside the university card.

• Software support: Store the certificate in an application or in a password-protected file in PKCS#12 format.

Technically it is possible, although it is much easier and safer to use the certificate stored in the university card.

Except for the DNIe, whose certificates can only be stored inside the physical device, this is possible through the Card Certificate Manager. For more information read the Certificate Manager page.

The certificate revocation procedure performs the anullment of the certificate before the expiration date stated on the certificate comes to terms.

The revocation can be requested at any time, especially when the holder believes that his certificate may have been compromised.

The main causes for certificate revocation are:

• Expiration of the validity period listed on the certificate.

• A request for a new certificate will revoke the previous one.

• Express wish of the subscriber.

• Death of the subscriber or his principal, supervening disability, total or partial, termination of the representation or extinction of the represented entity.

• Inaccuracies in the data provided by the subscriber to obtain the certificate.

• Assumption that either the key of the subscriber or the key of the Certification Authority have been compromised.

Every time a Certificate Authority issues a certificate to a user, any previous certificate (from the same Certification Authority) that it may have, is automatically revoked. Consequently, you can delete the old certificate without consequences.

Have you installed the necessary software?

Have you installed the necessary software?

If you are using the certificate stored in the card, is the reader installed and properly set up and is the card inserted correctly?

It is recommended by the University of Murcia to store the certificate in the university card, in order to increase the security of the certification system, as using it will require entering the card PIN.

In addition to the card, it requires:

• Card reader correctly installed.

• Previous installation of the necessary software.

See the Smart Card Project website.

You can buy it at any specialized computer equipment store. Contact your usual supplier.

The action of copying the certificate and the private key from a PKCS#12 file (password-protected file that contains the certificate and the private key, among other elements) to a given destination is referred to as "import the certificate".

For example: You can export the certificate from the browser, to import it into the card.

"export the certificate" is the action of copying the certificate and the private key, from a given source to a PKCS#12 file (file protected by password that contains the certificate and the private key, among other elements).

For example: You can export the certificate from a card, and import it to the web browser.

If you want to use the certificate stored in the university card, access the Certificate Manager page.

If the certificate is installed in an application, you must use the tools that the application offers to do so.

The new model of the electronic National Identity Document is the document that physically and electronically proves the identity of its holder and allows to electronically sign documents.

Physically speaking, it is similar to the previous DNI, but it incorporates an electronic chip that contains the same data that appears printed on the card (personal data, photograph, digitized handwritten signature, digitized fingerprint).

In addition to this, it contains two electronic certificates for the holder, allowing the authentication and signing of documents.

No. The DNIe uses the same reader as the university card.

There's no need. The certificates are issued by different Certification Authorities, and therefore both remain valid.

See the DNIe information page.

See the necessary software.

No. You can only use the DNIe in services that require an electronic certificate.

It is not possible, since the DNIe does not contain an associated email address.

You can perform a Proof of signature.

See the list of supported systems.

To split and join PDF documents, the University of Murcia recommends using www.pdfsam.org.

The institutional signature tool of the University of Murcia is Signature holder.

If you want to sign a file for private use, you can use one of the Signature Applications available on the Electronic Administration Portal.

For documents in PDF format, you can consult the document on Generation of signatures on documents in PDF format.

Follow the instructions on the user manual.

We recommend that you use the QR code scanner built into your mobile phone's camera. To do this, you just have to open the camera, point to the code and wait for the associated link to appear.

If your phone does not have this function built-in, below we give you different options depending on the operating system of your mobile.

For Android devices:

1. Google Lens:

   It is generally integrated into the application Google or in the camera. If you don't have it, download it from the Google Play Store at this link:

   https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox&pli=1

2. Specialized QR readers:

   Look for apps like the following in the Play Store:

   • "QR Code Reader" ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.application_4u.qrcode.barcode&pcampaignid=web_share )
   • "QR Droid Code Scanner" ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=la.droid.qr&pcampaignid=web_share)
   • "QR & Barcode Scanner" ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rock.wash.reader&pcampaignid=web_share)

For iPhone (iOS) devices:

1. Google: You can install the Google app from the App Store to access Google Lens.

   https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google/id284815942

2. Specialized apps: Search the App Store for apps like:

   • "QR: QR code reader" ( https://apps.apple.com/es/app/qr-lector-de-c%C3%B3digos-qr/id1080558159)
   • "QR and bar code reader" ( https://apps.apple.com/es/app/lector-c%C3%B3digo-qr-y-barras/id1048473097 ).

Additional Tip

• Keep your applications updated to ensure compatibility and security when scanning codes.

The appropriate browsers for this process are:

• Google Chrome 87.0 or higher

• Edge 88.0 or higher

• Firefox 78.0 or higher

• Safari 14.0 or higher