In a society that advances towards the digitization of most of its procedures, it is important to take into account the need to know how to carry out the digital signature. There are many programs that we can find official to carry out this procedure, but we must always go to the official sources to download it.
Electronic ID or digital certificate
It is important to note that in order to carry out an official digital signature, a digital certificate or an electronic ID is required. There are many applications that allow us to sign a digital document simply by taking a photograph of our signature on paper. But this is not valid to carry out official procedures or sign draft contracts. In these cases an official certificate must always be used, which can guarantee that the signatory is who he says he is. This can only be achieved through digital certificates .
In Spain, with the electronic DNI we always carry a certificate with us. The only drawback is that a compatible reader is required so that you can read the ID chip and upload this certificate. It is also necessary to know the DNI password, since to prevent anyone from accessing this valuable information, certificates are password protected. To get it you simply have to go to a police station where they will tell you how to renew it. There are many readers that we find in the market and that are compatible with macOS, and the truth is that they are not worth much money. If you are a person who needs to do this type of official document signing frequently, it is essential to have one. In order to use this reader, it is essential to install the drivers that you will find on the website of the National Police .
Although it is not essential to have the DNI certificate, since there are many other electronic certificates issued by public entities. For example, the Coin and Stamp Factory issues this type of certificate, being equally valid.
AutoFirma, the application to digitally sign
Once you have your certificate, you must download the application that is used to digitally sign documents. This is called AutoFirma and can be downloaded comfortably from the website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation safely. We always recommend using official applications, since using certificates in untrusted applications is not recommended.
Once the software is downloaded and installed, connect the electronic ID to the Mac if you need it. When you start you will see that it gives you a choice between using an electronic ID or a certificate. You can choose the one you want and choose the most comfortable measure with your DNI or upload a certificate manually. In the case of the DNI you will be asked for the authentication key.
When you have loaded the certificate, you must choose the files you want to sign by dragging or selecting them with the Finder. Once uploaded, you will be asked if you want to include in the document a visual proof that it is signed by you. You can mark it if you want and choose in the next window the place where you want your name to appear with the date or the data you see appropriate. It is also possible to add an image of your signature if you scan it to make it more integrated.
But the really interesting thing is that when you sign the document it generates another one that you can save wherever you want. This may have the visual mark that you have signed it, but the authentication can be seen if you right-click and click ‘Get information’. Here it will be clearly seen that it is signed with a fully valid certificate and program, so that it can have legal validity.
As you can see, it is very easy to carry out the digital signature, being the most tedious to manage the digital certificate. But once this step has been overcome, the firm becomes tremendously comfortable.
