How to find the Firefox Certificate Viewer

How to find the Firefox Certificate Viewer
Mozilla is set to launch a Certificate Viewer. Find out why and how to open it.

Firefox has always had a certificate viewer, but with the release of Firefox 71, a new certificate viewer will be in place. This new certificate viewer opens in its own tab (instead of a new window) and displays all relevant information for a specific certificate such as validity, fingerprint, public key, information about the issuer, and much more. 

Why did Mozilla make the change from opening the certificate viewer in a tab, instead of its own window? Primarily because opening the certificate viewer in its own tab ensures everything displays properly, regardless of the size of the window. 

SEE: Windows 10 security: A guide for business leaders (TechRepublic Premium)

Why would you want to view a certificate? One reason is to make sure the certificate for the site you are visiting is legit. Or you might be using a certificate for your own site and you want to make sure it’s working properly and displays the correct information. There are a number of reasons to view a site’s certificate. 

How to open the Firefox Certificate Viewer

1. Go to a site that uses a certificate (such as TechRepublic.com). 
2. Once the page loads, right-click anywhere and select View Page Info. The Page Info box will open. 
3. In that new window, click the Security tab and then the View Security button. A new tab will open, displaying all of the information for the site’s certificate. 
4. You can now close the Page Info box and view all of the information regarding that certificate in the newly-opened tab. 

And that’s all there is to locating and using the new Firefox Certificate Viewer. Note: Currently, only the Firefox Nightly build offers the new certificate viewer. If you use the standard release, you’ll have to…