To generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR): Select System in the left hand menu. Then select Certificates. Click on the 'Generate CSR' button. Fill out the form. The country is a two letter code (e.g. US for the United States of America) If you enter a Private Key Password that password will be required to import the resulting certificate. Type the following command in an open terminal window on your computer to generate your private key using SSL: $ openssl genrsa -out /path/to/wwwservercom.key 2048. This will invoke OpenSSL, instruct it to generate an RSA private key using the DES3 cipher, and send it as an output to a file in the same directory where you ran the command.
Introduction
A Certificate Signing Request (CSR) is the first step in setting up an SSL Certificate on your website. SSL certificates are provided by Certificate Authorities (CA), which require a Certificate Signing Request (CSR).
This guide will instruct you on how to generate a Certificate Signing Request using OpenSSL.
Open a terminal window. Use your SSH connection to log into your remote server.
Note: If you are working locally, you don’t need an SSH connection. Also, most Linux systems will launch a terminal window by pressing Ctrl-Alt-T or Ctrl-Alt-F1.
Generate 40 digit alphanumeric key code. It is advised to issue a new private key each time you generate a CSR. Hence, the steps below instruct on how to generate both the private key and the CSR.
Make sure to replace your_domain with the actual domain you’re generating a CSR for.
The commands are broken out as follows:
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Note: Use 2048-bit key pairs. The 4096-bit key pairs are more secure, however, they require a lot more server resources.
Your system should launch a text-based questionnaire for you to fill out.
Enter your information in the fields as follows:
Please take into account that Organization Name and Unit Name must not contain the following characters:
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Once the software finishes, you should be able to find the CSR file in your working directory.
You can also enter the following:
The system should list out all certificate signing requests on the system. The one that matches the domain name you provided in Step 2 appended with the .csr extension is the one you need to look into.
You can open the .csr file in a text editor to find the alphanumeric code that was generated.
Enter the following command:
This text can be copied and pasted into a submittal form to request your SSL certificate from a Certificate Authority.
Make sure you copy the entire text. Some CAs may allow you to simply upload the .csr file you generated. Below is an example of a CSR.
You needn’t send the private key to the CA. Once you get your SSL certificate, the private key on the server will bind with it to encrypt communication.
Now you know how to generate an OpenSSL certificate signing request. Before submitting the CSR to a certificate authority, we recommend verifying the information it holds. Use one of the widely available online CSR decoders.
SSL is a crucial protocol for securing traffic between a website and its visitors. It helps to protect sensitive information online, such as credit card data.
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