Verifying the Server Certificate Fingerprint

Owned by Dylan Nigh
Apr 05, 2023
2 min read

When a server's identity cannot be verified through a signed SSL certificate issued by a trusted certificate issuer, your confidential information could be at risk. MacPractice provides a self-signed certificate that encrypts data between the server and clients, as well as a fingerprint which can be verified through the About MacPractice window. 

Whenever you first have a client log into a server computer without a signed SSL certificate, you will see the following prompt.

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This message is communicating that the client has noticed that there is no signed SSL certificate from a certificate issuer on the Server computer. As MacPractice provides a self-signed certificate, communication to the MacPractice Server are still protected, but this message will appear as a precaution. To take all necessary security steps, you will want to verify that SHA-256 fingerprint in this message matches your server computer.

Note For Older Builds: On older builds of MacPractice, you may see a "SHA1" fingerprint, the steps to verify are the same.

To verify you are directly connecting to your server, the fingerprint within the Identify Verification window of the client machine can be compared to the fingerprint within the About MacPractice window on the server computer.

From the MacPractice Server, access the About MacPractice window by selecting MacPractice from the menu bar.

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Next, select the About MacPractice item. In the resulting About MacPractice window, verify the Certificate SHA-256 fingerprint on the server exactly matches the Certificate SHA-256 fingerprint from the client.

If the fingerprints match, you may safely click the "Trust and Continue" button on the client Identity Verification window. Once trusted, the Identity Verification window will no longer appear on the client machine.

 

When the MacPractice Server identity cannot be verified, we highly advise that you consult with a Networking Specialist to resolve any networking issues and potential security risks. MacPractice Support unfortunately cannot assist with Networking issues.

 

For improved security, your office can purchase and install a signed SSL certificate from a valid Certificate Authority. Certificate Authorities are third parties that issue certificates that validate that the server to which you are connecting is the server with the matching key.

 

MacPractice Support will unfortunately not be able to provide you with any assistance on purchasing and installing a signed SSL certificate.