使用ChatGPT学习 - cer和pem的区别、pem转换成cer方法、PEM (cert) 和 PEM (chain)下载方式的区别、检查cer文件的format

使用ChatGPT快速了解自己从来没有了解过的相关概念，真的大大提高工作效率。

1. what’s the difference between .cer and .pem?

Both .cer and .pem are file extensions used for digital certificates, but there are some differences between them.

A .cer file is a binary file format that contains an X.509 digital certificate. It is typically used on Microsoft Windows platforms, and can be used to verify the identity of a user or device, or to secure communication between two parties. The .cer file can contain a public key, a private key, or both, and is often used for SSL/TLS encryption.

A .pem file, on the other hand, is a Base64-encoded ASCII file format that contains one or more certificates, as well as the private key associated with those certificates. The .pem file format is used primarily on Unix-based systems, including Linux and macOS. It is a widely used format for SSL/TLS certificates, and can be used for securing email communication, web servers, and other network services.

In summary, the main difference between .cer and .pem is the file format and the platforms they are used on. .cer is a binary file format used primarily on Windows platforms, while .pem is an ASCII file format used primarily on Unix-based systems.
(pem和cer都是用来存储ssl证书的，cer是二进制文件，pem是ASCII编码的文件)

2. how to transfer .pem to .cer?

在z/OS上传的证书，需要证书是二进制的形式，但是Firefox通过下图的方式下载的证书是.pem格式，所以要将pem转换成cer。

下面是ChatGPT给出的转换方法:
To convert a PEM file to a CER file, you can use OpenSSL, an open-source software library for SSL/TLS encryption. Here are the steps to convert a PEM file to a CER file:

Open a command prompt or terminal window.

Navigate to the directory where your PEM file is located.

Run the following command to convert the PEM file to a DER-encoded certificate:

openssl x509 -in yourcert.pem -outform der -out yourcert.cer

Note that you will need to replace “yourcert.pem” with the name of your PEM file and “yourcert.cer” with the name you want to give to the output CER file.

The output file, “yourcert.cer,” will be in binary DER format. If you need the CER file to be in Base64-encoded ASCII format, you can convert it using the following command:

openssl base64 -in yourcert.cer -out yourcert.cer.base64

This will produce a new file called “yourcert.cer.base64” which will contain the Base64-encoded CER certificate.

That’s it! You have successfully converted a PEM file to a CER file using OpenSSL.

3. when download certificate, there are PEM (cert) and PEM (chain), what’s the difference between them?

可以看到friefox下载证书的时候，有两种，一种是cert，一种是chain，两者之间的区别是什么？
When downloading a certificate, you may see two options for PEM format: PEM (cert) and PEM (chain). Here’s the difference between them:

PEM (cert): This refers to the certificate itself, which contains the public key and identifying information (such as the domain name or organization name) about the entity that the certificate belongs to. This certificate is issued by a certificate authority (CA) and signed with the CA’s private key.

PEM (chain): This refers to the intermediate and root certificates that link the entity’s certificate to a trusted root CA. The chain may include one or more intermediate certificates, which are signed by the root CA and in turn sign the entity’s certificate. The chain is necessary to establish a trust chain between the entity’s certificate and the root CA’s certificate that is already trusted by your system or browser.

In summary, the “PEM (cert)” option provides the entity’s certificate only, while the “PEM (chain)” option includes the full certificate chain that links the entity’s certificate to a trusted root CA.

PEM (cert)只包含了本网站的一个证书，PEM (chain)包含了所有的证书，包括网站本身的证书，还包含所有的根证书，比如图片中的网站chain方式下载下来就包含了两级root证书和网站本身的证书。

4.how to check the format of the .cer file?

To determine the format of a .cer file, you can use OpenSSL, an open-source software library for SSL/TLS encryption. Here are the steps to check the format of a .cer file:

Open a command prompt or terminal window.

Navigate to the directory where your .cer file is located.

Run the following command to display the contents of the .cer file:

openssl x509 -inform der -in yourcert.cer -text -noout

This command assumes that the .cer file is in DER format. If the file is in another format, such as Base64-encoded ASCII, you may need to specify a different input format using the -inform option. For example, to check a Base64-encoded .cer file, you would use:

openssl x509 -inform pem -in yourcert.cer -text -noout

Note that you will need to replace “yourcert.cer” with the name of your .cer file.

The output of the command will contain information about the certificate, including its format. If the file is in DER format, the output will contain a line like this:

Certificate:
    Data:
        Version: 3 (0x2)
        ...
        Signature Algorithm: sha256WithRSAEncryption

If the file is in another format, such as Base64-encoded ASCII, the output will contain a different line indicating the format.

That’s it! You have determined the format of the .cer file using OpenSSL.

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