Depending on the issuer, there are various file suffixes for digital certificates and private keys. The following types are common:
- *.pfx and *.p12: PKCS#12 files
- *.pem, *.cer and *.crt: BASE-64 encoded certificates
- *.cer, *.crt and *.der: DER-encoded certificates
- *.key: BASE64 or DER encoded keys
- *.pvk: Microsoft-specific key format
Along with actual certificates, the world of certificate-secured VPN connections has another important file type: PKCS#12 files can contain several components, including a certificate and a private key. To process the PKCS#12 file, a password has to be entered when the certificate is exported.
Note:
BASE64-coded certificates have a header that typically features the following lines:
----- BEGIN CERTIFICATE -----
