How to Create a Self-Signed Certificate
In public key infrastructure, self-signed certificates are ones that are signed and validated by the creator of the certificate instead of a publicly acknowledged certifying authority. Certifying authorities assure the Internet surfer that the certificate being used on a website is actually created by the owner of the website, where a self-signed certificate could be faked by a computer hacker. Self-signed certificates, however, are used for testing one's website before paying for a certificate from a CA. A self-signed certificate can be created using publicly available software.
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Instructions
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Download and install OpenSSL (see Additional Resources).
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Open the DOS shell on your computer: Open the "Start" menu and type "cd openssl" in the search text field. Hit "Enter" to change to the OpenSSL directory.
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Generate an SSL server key by typing the following command at the DOS prompt followed by the "Enter" key: "openssl genrsa -des3 -out server.key 4096"
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Input the data that OpenSSL requests, such as company name, country and mailing address. Then, request a server signing request by typing the following command at the DOS prompt followed by "Enter": "openssl req -new -key server.key -out server.csr "
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Sign the digital certificate by typing the following command at the DOS prompt followed by "Enter": "openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in server.csr -signkey server.key -out server.crt "
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