A signature is a line that allows you to express agreement or grant validity to something.
The signature is the line , title or graphic that an individual writes by hand on a document with the intention of conferring validity or expressing his or her agreement. This signature allows the creator or recipient of the document to be identified . Through said drawing, it is also possible to verify the integrity of the data contained.
Some example sentences: “I need you to leave your signature on these three pages so I can give you the car key” , “They paid me with a check but I didn't notice a detail: the signature was missing” , “Roberto went to a lender that delivers credits with a single signature” , “Yesterday I registered on that Internet page: I am the user who has a photo of Maradona in his signature” .
Types of signatures
A distinction can be made between the handwritten signature or autograph (the signer develops several of his or her own personal strokes that identify him or her), the digital signature (a signature created through a technological application and based on cryptography) and the signature in Internet publications. (a short content that is linked to the messages that a user publishes on the Web and that may include images).
This last type of signature is often used on email accounts, usually by professionals, as it consists of a few lines with contact information and the person's title. An example would be "Juan Pérez, Graphic Designer, www.juanperez.com" . As mentioned in the previous paragraph, it is possible to include an image, such as a company logo or some decoration. In addition, by using HTML code you can adjust the size of the characters, as well as their style (bold, italic) and even their font. All of these possibilities vary depending on the provider, although they are quite common.
A signature serves to certify a document.
Digital validation
The digital signature , on the other hand, is used to verify the validity of a digitally sent package, such as a personal file or a business application . Basically, it assures the person who receives it that it is an original product, the creation of which belongs to whoever is shown as the sender and that it has not suffered any type of alteration during shipping. It is very common, however, for the operating system to warn the user of the absence of a digital signature when they want to install a program, given that not all developers take advantage of this security technique. This does not mean, it is worth clarifying, that it is illegal or malicious software ; Not containing this certification may be the simple result of a lack of will or thinking that it is not necessary for a certain product.
As with handwritten signatures, outside the scope of computers, digital signatures do nothing other than ensure the integrity of a computer package; It does not indicate in any way that the use of the file or program will be beneficial to the computer or that it is a premium product. Returning to the detection of the absence of a signature, the operating system tries to convey that this is synonymous with danger and feeds the feeling of distrust towards anything that does not display the name of one of the popular brands. On the other hand, it is these large companies that generate discontent, complaints and ridicule among millions of users, who finally migrate to the underworld of independent development and open source.
Other uses of the term signature
This concept also usually refers to the act of signing a series of documents to close some type of transaction, generally important and affecting more than one person: “With the mayor's signature, the city became the recipient of a new system.” "The forward's signing took place this morning and, a few hours later, he was already training with his new teammates . "
Another use of the notion of signature has to do with the name or corporate name of a company. In this sense, company , company and firm are synonyms: “A computer firm was accused by the government of evading taxes,” “The old building on the avenue was acquired by a firm dedicated to the production of cosmetics.”