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Contents
Introduction to the CAcert Assurance Program
To become a trusted CAcert user you need to find someone to assure your identity. This can be a CAcert assurer, a Trusted Third Party or just the fact that you're a notary for another certificate authority (see ThawteNotary for details).
This is just an light weight introduction. If you prefer full details have a look at FAQ/AssuranceDetails.
Getting Points
If someone assures you, you'll get points from him/her. Depending on the number of points you got, you are in a certain trustlevel. The higher your trustlevel is, the more CAcert functionallity you can use.
Learn a lot more about points on
CAP - The CAcert Assurance Program
One part of the CAcert assurance programme is based on a 'Web of trust' (WOT). A member of this WOT is called assurer and can grant a certain number of points to an individual. The CAP is the most common way to become assured: Meet with other CAcert users and let them verify who you are.
More details on:
FAQ/AssuranceByCAP - Getting Assured by a CAcert Assurer]
FAQ/AssuranceInformationForCAP - Information for CAcert Assurers]
WOT - Web of Trust
If CAcert users verify each other they are building up the CAcert Web of Trust. That means that if you're trusting your friends and your friends trust other friends, and so on ... the web of trust builds up globally and everyone trusts everyone over a certain number hops.
Other examples - like the PGP/GPG Web of Trust - show, that these webs can become very small meshed and the usual distance of members is below 4-5 hops ...
TTP - Trusted Third Party
If you can't meet someone from the CAcert Web of Trust, you still can meet an external Trusted Third Party. It is someone in your country who is trustworthy to check your ID and verify who you are.
For more details see
TTP - Trusted Third Party programme
FAQ/AssuranceByTTP - Getting Assured by a Trusted Third Party (TTP)
FAQ/AssuranceInformationForTTP - Information for Trusted Third Partys (TTP)
Other Ways of Getting Assured
There are a number of other ways to get assured. Just have a look at
FAQ/AssuranceDetails - Assurance Details Page
FAQ - Main FAQ page