Final answer:
A digital certificate verifies a user's identity in digital communications, containing a public key for encryption and a signature for identity authentication.
Step-by-step explanation:
A digital certificate is a technology used to verify a user's identity online. It's part of a broader concept known as credentialism, where certificates or degrees indicate a person's skills or educational achievements. Digital certificates, like physical credentials, serve to establish trust between parties in a digital environment. They typically contain a public key for encrypting, or scrambling, information and a digital signature that proves the identity of the holder. When you visit a secure website, the digital certificate helps ensure that the site is legitimate and your data is protected during transmission.