Palm - Support - Certificate Modification Tool

If you are receiving SSL errors as specified in Palm KB 16733, it is likely because you are using a custom or self-signed certificate which is not included in the root certificate list on the device. The error messages are occurring because VersaMail cannot match the Certificate Authority of your SSL Certificate to the approved list as specified in Palm KB 16733.

With the PalmOS Root Certificate Modification tool, you now have the option to add a root certificate to the database on the device, allowing VersaMail to "see" the certificate in the database and validate/allow email traffic. Follow the instructions below to use the PalmOS Root Certificate Modification Tool and add your certificate to the device:

Compatible Palm devices

Centro smartphone
Treo 755p smartphone
Treo 700p smartphone
Treo 680 smartphone
Treo 650 smartphone with VersaMail 3.5 add-on
Warning: This modification tool is only for use with these devices.

System requirements

Installation of the custom certificate database requires Palm HotSync and Palm Quick Install.
Subsequent system requirements are Windows 2000 or XP with Palm Desktop installed.
Root certificate to be added to the device must be obtained from the server.

Notes:

This tool is not compatible with Windows Vista.
The person using this tool must have administrative privileges on the desktop machine on which Palm Desktop is installed.
The user must have the certificate to be added to the device locally available on the PC with Palm Desktop installed.
The root certificate to be added to the device must be obtained from the server.


First, get the certificate: Obtain the root certificate that you would like to add to the device from the server. From Internet Explorer on the server that contains the Trusted Root Certificate Authority, choose Tools > Internet Options. Click the Content tab. Then click the Certificates button. From the Trusted Root Certificate Authorities tab, select whichever certs you want. Click the Export button. Click Next. Leave the default DER encoded x.509 cert. Give it a file name and choose the location to export the certificate using �Browse�� Click Finished. You should see a prompt saying the export was successful.		Next, move the file to the local desktop PC: Move the certificate from the server to the desktop PC that has HotSync Manager installed. You can use a flash drive, send it as an email attachment, post it on a shared drive, etc. The certificate will be added to the device through HotSync, so it needs to be locally available after obtaining it from the server. Once it's available on your desktop PC, you can follow the instructions below to use the Certificate Modification Tool to sync the certificate to your device.

Important: turn off AutoSync and reset your device before proceeding. Turn off AutoSync Open VersaMail on the device, and go to Menu > Options > Preferences > AutoSync. Disable AutoSync if it is enabled. Reset the device Perform a soft reset by removing/replacing the battery. Do not perform a VersaMail Sync or open VersaMail after the reset; leave the device idle in the phone application screen.

After you've turned off AutoSync and reset your device: On your PC, download PalmCertificates.zip (right). Extract the file to the C:\ directory. The extraction process will extract two files: PalmCertificates.exe cert2pdb.exe. Open the C:\ directory, and create a folder to store these files, for instance, "palm_certificates." Move the PalmCertificates.exe and cert2pdb.exe. files into this folder.		66KB Zip archive


From this folder, double click "PalmCertificates.exe" to run the utility.

Select "Add..."

Browse to locate the certificate(s) you would like to add to the device (.cer file type). A certificate entitled �aba� is shown below as an example. Select the certificate and click "Open."

Select "Generate PDB" to convert the certificate to a Palm Database File.

The Palm Quick Install window will open showing the certificate database to be added to the device. Select the HotSync username associated with the device from the drop down.

HotSync your device to install the new certificate.

Perform a soft reset. The new certificate has now been added to the device..


I'm receiving the error "Palm QuickInstall.exe not found"		Ensure that Palm Desktop is installed on your Computer, and that Palm HotSync is running. This can be identified by a HotSync logo on the bottom right corner of the task bar on your PC. If there is no logo, HotSync is not running; go to Start > Programs > Palm (or palmOne) > HotSync, and then try running the utility again.

I'm receiving the error "cert2pdb.exe not found!"		To correct this error, ensure that the cert2pdb.exe file is correctly located in the same directory as PalmCertificates.exe (see first step). Use Windows Explorer to browse to the directory where you extracted the two files from the PalmCertificates.zip file, and try to locate the cert2pdb.exe file. If you cannot locate this file, download the .zip file again, and go through the full instructions above.

Nothing happens when I select "Generate Palm Database"		If nothing happens when you click the Generate PDB Button, you may be trying to add too many Certificates. Remove some and then try again.

I installed my new certificate but am now receiving an SSL error message on different web sites using the web browser.		Perform a soft reset, and try accessing the page again. Still having problems? You can always perform a hard reset to restore your smartphone to its factory state. Perform a hard reset and try accessing the page again. For instructions on performing a hard reset, visit Palm KB 887.