Wireless Certificates

The District "SPS_Secure" Wi-Fi system uses security certificates as part of the process to get clients connected. These certificates must be updated on a yearly basis. After we upgrade the certificate, your device may prompt you to trust the new certificate and you should do so.

How to accept a certificate

When connecting to the SPS_Secure wireless network, you may be asked to accept a certificate if one of the conditions listed under the "When will I be asked to accept a certificate?" section.

Before accepting a certificate, it is important that you quickly verify a couple pieces of information to ensure you are connecting to a legitimate access point:

• 1. The certificate should specify the server names of "spdc1.springfield.k12.or.us" or "spdc2.springfield.k12.or.us"

  2. The certificate issuer should be specified as "DigiCert" or "thawte Primary Root CA".

If any of the pieces of information do not match, you may be connecting to a malicious access point. If you have any doubts or questions, please contact Technology Services. Be sure to include the time, place, and screenshots, if possible.

This process looks different depending on the type of device you are on, but I've included iOS, Mac OS X, and Windows screenshots below. Please note that Windows does not give useful certificate information for verification.

On iOS devices:

When will I be asked to accept a certificate?

There should be only two cases where an end user will be asked to accept a certificate when connecting to wireless:

• 1. The first time a device connects to SPS_Secure, including after system resets.

  2. When Technology Services changes a certificate on the wireless authentication servers. Typically, Technology Services should send out a certificate change notice prior to the change.