How to Register an SSL Certificate
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a technology that encrypts information that is sent from a user's computer to the server. It ensures that people visiting your site have encryption when submitting private information like credit cards or social security numbers. Providing SSL on a server is the responsibility of the website owner. Registering an SSL certificate is accomplished through a valid provider.
Instructions
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1
Register the domain name for the website. A fully qualified domain name is needed to register an SSL certificate. Several domain registries exist. Some popular ones are godaddy.com, dotster.com and register.com.
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2
Verify "whois" entries are valid. SSL verification involves a background check with the person registering the certificate with the information in the Whois Directory. The Whois Directory is a registry of domain names and the owners. The domain information must be valid and public. Check your domain information at whois.net.
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3
Generate a key by opening a new command prompt in Linux and entering the following commands:
openssl genrsa -out www.<mydomain>.com.key 1024
openssl req -new -key www.<mydomain>.com.key -out www.<mydomain>.com.csr
Replace "<mydomain>" with the name of the domain from step one. This creates a csr file needed for step four. -
4
Register the SSL certificate with a secure authority. The most popular company for SSL certification is Verisign. Register the certificate at verisign.com/ssl/buy-ssl-certificates/index.html. The company takes your private information and checks for contact information validity for registration.
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