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.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

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.

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.

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.

References

• softwareprojects.com