Communicator Help: Using AOL<sup><font size=-2>®</font></sup> Communicator Identity Manager

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Using AOL Communicator Identity Manager

Managing SSL Settings and Warnings

The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol allows your computer to exchange information with other computers on the Internet in encrypted form—that is, the information is scrambled while in transit so that it is harder to read and make sense of. SSL is also used to identify computers on the Internet by means of certificates.

You shouldn't adjust your SSL settings unless you know what you're doing or have the assistance of someone else who does. If you do need to adjust them for some reason, follow the directions in the next section.

SSL Settings

The SSL Settings preference panel allows you to control the protocols used by AOL Communicator for SSL and the warnings it displays to keep you informed of the encryption status of connections AOL Communicator makes with servers.

If you are not already viewing SSL Settings, open the Edit menu in Identity Manager, choose Security Preferences, and click SSL Settings.

SSL Protocol Versions

The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol defines rules governing mutual authentication between a web site and client software and the encryption of information that flows between them. The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol is an IETF standard based on SSL. TLS 1.0 can be thought of as SSL 3.1.

You should normally leave these three checkboxes selected to ensure that both older and newer web servers can work with AOL Communicator:

- Enable SSL version 2: Allows older web servers to work with AOL Communicator.
- Enable SSL version 3: Allows newer web servers to work with AOL Communicator.
- Enable TLS: Allows web servers that support TLS to take advantage of it.

To turn individual ciphers on or off, click the Edit Ciphers button:

- Edit Ciphers: Don't attempt to edit ciphers individually unless you know exactly what you are doing and have cleared the changes with your system administrator.

Important note re TLS: Some servers that do not implement SSL correctly cannot negotiate the SSL handshake with client software (such as AOL Communicator) that supports TLS. Such servers are known as "TLS intolerant."

When the Enable TLS option in the SSL preferences panel is selected, AOL Communicator attempts to use the TLS protocol when making secure connections with a server. If that connection fails because the server is TLS intolerant, AOL Communicator falls back to using SSL 3.0.

SSL Warnings

To activate any of these warnings, select the corresponding checkbox:

- Connecting to a server that supports encryption: Select this warning if you want to be reminded whenever you are connecting to a server that supports encryption.
- Connecting to a server that uses low-grade encryption: Select this warning if you want to be reminded whenever you are connecting to a server that supports low-grade encryption. (Low-grade encryption is the weakest encryption available, using 40-bit keys.)

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The sections in this document that discuss security, encryption, and privacy are provided by AOL for your information only. They may help you take certain steps to protect the privacy and security of your personal information on the Internet. This document does not, however, address all online privacy and security issues, nor does it represent a recommendation by AOL about what constitutes adequate privacy and security protection on the Internet.

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Last Updated September 16, 2003