Windows Generate Ssl Certificate And Key

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If you want to convert your website from HTTP to HTTPS, you need to get a SSL certificate from a valid organization like Verisign or Thawte. You can also generate self signed SSL certificate for testing purpose.

In this article, let us review how to generate private key file (server.key), certificate signing request file (server.csr) and webserver certificate file (server.crt) that can be used on Apache server with mod_ssl.

We provide here detailed instructions on how to create a private key and self-signed certificate valid for 365 days. Follow this article if you need to generate a private key and a self-signed certificate, such as to secure GSX Gizmo access using HTTPS. Locate and right click the certificate, click Export and follow the guided wizard. Once you have the.pfx file, you can keep it as a backup of the key, or use it to install the certificate on another Windows server. If you're trying to use the certificate on a different OS, you'll need to split the.pfx into the certificate and the private key. The Certificate Authority providing your certificate (such as DigiCert) does not create or have your private key. If you have not yet installed your certificate, then the most likely location of your private key is on the computer or server where you generated the CSR. How to Generate a Self-Signed Certificate and Private Key using OpenSSL Generating a private key and self-signed certificate can be accomplished in a few simple steps using OpenSSL. We provide here detailed instructions on how to create a private key and self-signed certificate valid for 365 days.

Key, CSR and CRT File Naming Convention

I typically like to name the files with the domain name of the HTTPS URL that will be using this certificate. This makes it easier to identify and maintain.

  • Instead of server.key, I use www.thegeekstuff.com.key
  • Instead of server.csr, I use www.thegeekstuff.com.csr
  • Instead of server.crt, I use www.thegeekstuff.com.crt

1. Generate Private Key on the Server Running Apache + mod_ssl

First, generate a private key on the Linux server that runs Apache webserver using openssl command as shown below.

The generated private key looks like the following.

2. Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

Php generate public private key pair. Using the key generate above, you should generate a certificate request file (csr) using openssl as shown below. microsoft office for mac download 2019

3. Generate a Self-Signed SSL Certificate

For testing purpose, you can generate a self-signed SSL certificate that is valid for 1 year using openssl command as shown below.


You can use this method to generate Apache SSL Key, CSR and CRT file in most of the Linux, Unix systems including Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Fedora and Red Hat.

4. Get a Valid Trial SSL Certificate (Optional)

Instead of signing it youself, you can also generate a valid trial SSL certificate from thawte. i.e Before spending the money on purchasing a certificate, you can also get a valid fully functional 21 day trial SSL certificates from Thawte. Once this valid certificate works, you can either decide to purchase it from Thawte or any other SSL signing organization.

This step is optional and not really required. For testing purpose, you can always use the self-signed certificate that was generated from the above step.

Go to Thwate trial certificate request page and do the following:

  • Select “SSL Web Server Certificate (All servers)” under the “select your trial certificate”.
  • Do not check the PKCS #7 check-box under the “configure certificate”
  • Copy/Paste the *.csr file that you generate above in the textbox under “certificate signing request (CSR)”
  • Click on next at the bottom, which will give you a 21-day free trial certificate.

How To Generate Ssl Certificate


Copy/Paste the trial certificate to the www.thegeekstuff.com.crt file as shown below.

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