How to Create a Trusted Certificate

A public key certificate is an electronic file that verifies the identity of a person or company to an Internet user by means of a digital signature. In order to generate a "trusted certificate," you must have a Certifying Authority verify your identity. Generating a certificate is free. However, Certifying Authorities charge a fee to issue the digital signature to make your certificate "trusted."

Instructions

1. Download and install the latest Java Development Kit from the website listed as Resource No. 1 at the bottom of this article.

2. Open the DOS prompt on your computer by selecting the "Start" menu and typing "command" in the search text field.

3. Type "Keytool -- certreq," followed by the "enter" key. You will be queried for a password by the keytool in order to protect the integrity of the keystore on your computer. Enter the data applicable to your business or organization when queried for the information, and click the "enter" key. The trusted certificate request will be saved under the name "certreq_file."

4. Send the trusted-certificate request generated in step 3 to a certifying authority for processing. Thawte and VeriSign are two well-known CAs listed in the Resources section of this article. The CA will then send you a trusted certificate that can be deployed with a website.

5. Use the trusted certificate for website deployment or for updating your keystore as required for web-authoring purposes.

References

• Information on Creating Trusted Certificates
• How to Create a Self-Signed Certificate
• Information on Trusted Certificates

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Sun's JDK Download Site
• VeriSign Certifying Authority Website
• Thawte Certifying Authority Website