How can the SSL client validate the server's certificate?

Question

I am building an application and I am planning on using OpenSSL for securing data transfers.

I am planning on only having the client validate the server\'s certificate.

Answer 1

not quite sure what you're trying to ask. the server cert is sent to you, the client; you validate the cert by checking its signature (use SHA-1 not MD5, MD5 has been cracked.) The key you have from the CA is the public side; the CA and the server cert holder keep their private keys to themselves. You can validate the cert because the public key is enough to decrypt a message that has been encrypted with the private key. So you don't have to worry, on the cient side, about keeping the cert encrypted at all.

Have a look at the Wikipedia article on SSL/TLS.