Any time that you use the Internet to perform a transaction that involves confidential information, the site you are using will use a digital certificate that can verify your identity. In order to do this they maintain a root certificate that compares your digital signature to the one that they have on file in their home database.
The Root Certificate is a Vital Part of Your Security
All of the digital certificates that we issue have a limited lifespan, however, even so they must still match the root certificate that we maintain in our files. The root certificate is a vital part of your online security. Think about it like this, anyone can put up a site that looks like your bank, but if they do not have the root certificate to verify that they are who they say they are, your browser is going to let you know that you are on a fake site and keep you from accessing the fake site and giving away your personal information.