User Guide

PIVKEY FAQ

What does PIVKey do?

PIVKey allows users to issue and manage a PIV (Personal Identity Verification)

compatible card, using the standard Windows certificate enrollment processes to

load certificates on the card.

What is the Default PIN and Admin Key?

When you first receive your PIVKey the default PIN is:

Six zeros: 000000

The default Admin Key is:

Forty-eight zeros

Why do I need to test my PIVKey first?

Before installing any software you?ll want to test your new card first. This will verify

that your PIVKey is being read and that the user PIN is set to six zeros (you will have

to enter it when prompted).

How do I test my PIVKey card?

You can test your new card without downloading any software, or doing anything

special right away. Your card comes loaded with a digital certificate issued by PIVKey

which you can use to test the card with HTTPS client certificate authentication

against our test website. To do so, insert your PIVKey smart card into your smart

card reader, or PIVKey Token into a USB slot. Open Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer,

or Google Chrome and browse to https://www.pivkey.com/test/. You will be asked to

select or confirm your certificate, and enter the PIN ?000000?. You can confirm that

the PIVKey certificate was used by selecting the ?Certificate Info? page. For

screenshots of this process, see the article Testing a PIVKey at

pivkey.zendesk.com

PAGE 1
PIVKEY FAQ Wh at does PIVKey do? PIVKey allows users to issue and manage a PIV (Personal Identity Verification) compatible card, using the standard Windows certificate enrollment processes to load certificates on the card. Wh at is t h e Def au lt PIN an d Adm in Key? When you first receive your PIVKey the default PIN is: Six zeros: 000000 The default Admin Key is: Forty-eight zeros Wh y do I n eed t o t est m y PIVKey f ir st ? Before installing any software you?ll want to test your new card first.
PAGE 2
Do I n eed Win dow s t o load cer t if icat es on t o m y PIVk ey car d? Yes, PIVKey is designed to use the Microsoft Minidriver interface to load certificates and generate keys. PIVKey works with Windows Server 2008, 2008R2, 2012, 2012R2 and 2016, and Windows versions 7, 8.0, 8.1, and 10. See pivk ey.zen desk .
PAGE 3
Wh at if I?m u sin g t h e Fir ef ox br ow ser ? Firefox Browser requires an additional PKCS11 component that supports the PIV interface. OpenSC is an open source package that can do so. Wh er e do I get t h e sof t w ar e? The PIVKey Admin Installer is required to manage the PIVKey: to load certificates, to map certificates to the PIV certificate slots, to unblock the user PIN, etc. It should be installed on an Admin enrollment station or on a central server.