Before reading this guide, be familiar with the basic concepts of public-key cryptography and the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, including the following topics:
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Encryption and decryption
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Public keys, private keys, and symmetric keys
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Digital signatures
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The role of digital certificates in a public-key infrastructure (PKI)
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Certificate hierarchies
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SSL cipher suites
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The purpose of and major steps in the SSL handshake