PKI Private Key Warning Dialog

*This information is very important for ASP users of Chilkat Crypt and Chilkat Mail.

Chilkat components incorporating PKI features are implemented using CryptoAPI, which can display a warning dialog as shown below in certain circumstances. The information on this page will tell you how to avoid this dialog.

More information regarding this topic can be found HERE.

The dialog above is displayed when an attempt is made to access a private key from a certificate stored in the registry under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER root store. This can happen when creating a digital signature or decrypting data. Attempting to do this in ASP will hang the web server. It will not happen when verifying a digital signature, or encrypting data, since these operations do not involve the use of private keys.

The Solution

The dialog is not displayed when accessing private keys from certificate stores that are file-based, or registry-based and under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE section of the registry. You can copy the certificates you need for signing and decrypting to a certificate store in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. The procedure for doing this is described below.

Bring up the Certificates Management Snap-In and locate the certificate to be moved in the Current User/Personal/Certificates folder. Left-click on the certificate and drag-and-drop it onto the Local Computer/Personal/Certificates folder. That's it, your certificate now exists in both certificate stores. You can delete the certificate from the original Current User store by right-clicking on it and selecting Delete.