- Linux Generate Key From Crt File
- Linux Generate Key From Crt Program
- Linux Generate Key From Crt Pdf
- Generate Key From Crt
Unix & Linux Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for users of Linux, FreeBSD and other Un.x-like operating systems. It only takes a minute to sign up. Apache - Generate private key from an existing.crt file. I have some apache instances running smoothly with a home-made generated certificate.
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.
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)
Using the key generate above, you should generate a certificate request file (csr) using openssl as shown below.
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.
Copy/Paste the trial certificate to the www.thegeekstuff.com.crt file as shown below.
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Today we will discuss how to generate a self-signed SSL certificate on Linux. SSL is on a lot of people’s minds today. With free Let’s Encrypt certificates becoming extremely common, there’s no reason for anyone to not use SSL – not to mention the search ranking benefits, and the fact that browsers will trust your site.
However, you can also create your own self-signed SSL certificate for private use on your server. One big reason to do this is encryption. While your personal certificate won’t mean anything to browsers, and visitors will still get a warning message if they visit your site directly, you can at least be sure that you’re protected against “man-in-the-middle” attacks. A self-signed certificate is a good first step when you’re just testing things out on your server, and perhaps don’t even have a domain name yet.
So here’s a step by step procedure on how to create a self-signed SSL certificate on Linux.
Step 1: Create an RSA Keypair
The first step is to use the “openssl” package on Linux/CentOS to create an RSA key pair. To do this, make sure that you have the package installed. If not, install it with:
Chances are that you already have it available on your system. If so, generate the key/pair using the following command:
This command uses 2048 bit encryption and outputs a file called “keypair.key” as shown here:
As you can see, the key has been generated and placed in the current directory.
Step 2: Extract the Private Key into an “httpd” Folder
The “/etc/httpd” folder is where the system keeps all the important SSL related stuff. So first, let’s create a new folder to hold all the files relating to our private key:
Linux Generate Key From Crt File
I’ve called the folder “httpscertificate” and will refer to it for all the other command line examples.
To extract the private key from the keypair file that we just created, type in the following:
Replace the section in bold with the IP address of your own server. Or if you’re able to access your site with a domain name, you can use that as well.
This will create a “key” file in the folder that we just created. And when that’s done, we can delete the original keypair file:
Step 3: Creating a “Certificate Signing Request” or CSR File
With the key, we can create a special “csr” file that we can either sign ourselves or submit to a “Certificate Authority”. It’s in a standardized format. To create it, type the following command:
Again, replace the items in bold with the IP address or domain name that you settled on in step 2. When you run this command, the tool will ask you for a bunch of personal information:
Linux Generate Key From Crt Program
A CA can use these details to verify that you are indeed who you say you are. Fill up as much information as you can.
Once you’ve finished entering these details, the tool will wrap up its work and place a “csr” file in the directory we created for just this purpose.
Step 4: Creating the Certificate “.crt” File
With the CSR, we can create the final certificate file as follows:
This creates a “crt” file along with all the others. Here’s a screenshot of the final files in our security folder:
Now we need to tell Apache where these files are.
Step 5: Configuring Apache to Use the Files
First, we need to install the “mod_ssl” package with the command:
Once done, this will place a “ssl.conf” file inside the /etc/httpd/conf.d/ folder. We need to modify this default file:
Now scroll down till you find the lines starting with:
Linux Generate Key From Crt Pdf
Change the default paths with the paths to the certificate file and key file respectively as shown here: Mit your browser failed to generate a key.
Save your changes. Aomei backupper key generator infected. Now just restart Apache with:
And you’re done! When Apache restarts, it will be configured to allow SSL connections.
When you connect to your IP address via HTTPS the next time, you’ll be warned that it’s not a trusted certificate:
That’s ok. We know this since we signed it ourselves! Just proceed and it’ll take you to the final site:
Here you can see that it’s using the certificate that we created. It’s not much use for anyone else visiting your site since they can’t verify your identity. But you know it’s safe, and moreover that it’s encrypted. No man in the middle attacks!
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Generate Key From Crt
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