Given a boundary of spacetime preserved by a Diff(S-1) sub-algebra, we propose a systematic method to compute the zero mode and the central extension of the associated Virasoro algebra of charges. Using these values in the Cardy formula, we may derive an associated statistical entropy to be compared with the Bekenstein-Hawking result. To illustrate our method, we study in detail the BTZ and the rotating, Kerr-adS(4) black holes (at spatial infinity and on the horizon). In both cases, we are able to reproduce the area law with the correct factor of 1/4 for the entropy. We also recover within our framework the first law of black-hole thermodynamics. We compare our results with the analogous derivations proposed by Carlip and others. Although similar, our method differs in the computation of the zero mode. In particular, the normalization of the ground state is automatically fixed by our constructio
