Patent ID: 7827399

Claim:
A method of certificate path processing, comprising: storing a given digital certificate; evaluating a first set of preferences to identify one or more preferences correlating to the given digital certificate; wherein the one or more correlating preferences are specific to the given digital certificate, wherein the one or more correlating preferences indicate a manner in which the one or more computers are to process the given digital certificate; subsequent to identifying the one or more correlating preferences, generating a combined set of preferences that includes at least a portion of the one or more correlated preferences that are specific to the given digital certificate combined with a second set of preferences that are not specific to said given digital certificate, wherein the second set of preferences indicates a manner in which the one or more computers are to process multiple digital certificates including the given digital certificate; wherein each set of preferences is distinct from each digital certificate; and processing the given digital certificate according to the combined set of preferences.