The digital certificate is an increasingly important file. With it you can do procedures online without having to go to an office, which saves you time and money. The problem is that, sometimes, the password that this certificate carries is lost to us. Do you wonder how to recover the password of the digital certificate?
Either because you have lost the password of your digital certificate of the electronic DNI, or that of the certificate of the National Currency and Stamp Factory (or another certificate that you have obtained), Next we will give you the steps so that you can recover it (if possible).
Digital certificate password, what is that?
If you have never had a digital certificate before, you should know that when you want to identify yourself to deliver paperwork or to view "protected" data, it may ask you to have a certificate and that it has an associated password in order to operate.
For example, when we renew our electronic card (DNI), in addition to the new identity document, they give us a sealed envelope with a combination of letters, symbols and numbers. That is the password that would have associated your certificate. It is a kind of double security that is enabled to prevent anyone from using your certificate.
But, whether it's because you don't have a copy of your private key, because you're on another computer and want to install it, or for some other reason, you may not have the key and need to figure out how to recover the digital certificate password.
In this case, there can be two situations:
Get the certificate key on the computer that has the certificate
Imagine that you have your computer, where you installed the electronic certificate in your day. But, I don't know why, now it doesn't work well.
If this happens to you, the steps you can take to solve it are the following:
- Go to Control Panel. There you have to go to Networks and Internet. In the event that you use Linux or Mac, you will surely have another place to reach that network and Internet area.
- Once there, click on Internet Options and, In the “Content” tab, click on “Certificates”.
- Next, select the file that is your certificate and click "Export". Follow the steps that it will tell you to do it and then go to the browser and install that certificate (giving it import certificate).
- If it goes well, you'll see that you can install and use it No problem because you don't have the password.
Get the certificate key on another computer
If you have read the above, you will see that, at a certain point, we have the exported electronic certificate. And this file is used to install it (import it) in browsers (always regardless of the key).
Well, it's the same thing you can do on another computer. Only, instead of importing the certificate on that same computer that already has the certificate on it, you take it to a browser on another computer.
And what happens if it tells me that the key is necessary?
One of the problems that you can find when it comes to recovering the password of the digital certificate is that, when you do the previous steps, your computer tells you that it cannot be what you are doing. That is you need the key to unlock it and actually install it.
Well, we are sorry to tell you that if you have lost the password of the digital certificate there will be no way to recover it. None.
Being a security mechanism, only you know the key, and neither in the police station nor by those who issue electronic certificates can access your certificate and reset it, or that you can change the password.
And what is done then?
To begin with, you will need to revoke the certificate that has now become unusable. If it was about to expire, you can always renew it, because that will change the key to unlock it, and therefore you can have the new password.
But if it was new and you have lost the keys, you will have to revoke it so that they let you make a new digital certificate.
For that, the steps will change depending on where you want to get the new certificate.
Using the example of the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, the steps you must take are the following:
- Go to the official page. Specifically, to the part of certificates as a natural person and to the "Cancel" section. There it will give you the steps that will cause the certificate that you had issued to be annulled.
- In case you don't have the certificate. In other words, if your mobile phone or computer with which you made your certificate has been stolen, you will have to go to an Accreditation Office (like the one you went to sign when you requested the certificate). There you can report the problem and they will take care of revoking the certificate, and even, hopefully, going through the process to request a new one.
How to recover the digital certificate if it has been blocked
Another situation that you can suffer is that, even having the password, and putting it in, the digital certificate does not work for you. By default, it only allows you three attempts to enter the password. And if you don't realize it and use them, and the password doesn't work for you, the certificate is blocked.
What does that mean? Well what, Although you have the certificate, it is of no use to you because it is blocked as a security measure.
Given this, you can do two things:
- On the one hand, if the certificate is from the Mint, you can look on its page to see if it says anything about it. Otherwise, you could contact them for a consultation.
- On the other hand, if the certificate is from the electronic DNI, the way to unlock it is to go to a police station. Virtually all of them have a machine where you can enter your DNI and, among the actions to be carried out, you have to renew the certificate and to unlock it. Although a few years ago it was not achieved with the machines, now they can unlock it. If not, if you need it, you will have to get a new DNI to obtain the certificate again by this method.
Is it clearer to you now how to recover the password of the digital certificate?