Generate Ssl Private Key On Apache
The path to your private key is listed in your site's virtual host file. Navigate to the server block for your site (by default, it's located in the /var/www directory). Open the configuration file for your site and search for sslcertificatekey which will show the path to your private key. Still can't find your private key? Depending on your network you may have to move your SSL/TLS server certificate and its private key from one system to another. This article covers how to move your server certificate, and its private key from IIS that uses a single pfx/p12/pkcs#12 file to Apache that uses separate.pem.crt, key files. Jul 09, 2019 “Private.key” can be replaced with any key file title you like. SSL/TLS Manager a) The simplest way to get the appropriate key used during SSL installation is reflected in the below picture: b) Alternatively, you can find the Private key in the Private keys section of the SSL/TLS Manager, which can be located in the cPanel main menu.
Jul 08, 2009 1. Generate Private Key on the Server Running Apache + modssl. First, generate a private key on the Linux server that runs Apache webserver using openssl command as shown below. Jul 08, 2009 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 modssl. Key, CSR and CRT File Naming Convention.
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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Installation
Why do I get permission errors related to SSLMutex when I start Apache?
Errors such as ``mod_ssl: Child could not open SSLMutex lockfile /opt/apache/logs/ssl_mutex.18332 (System error follows) [...] System: Permission denied (errno: 13)' are usually caused by overly restrictive permissions on the parent directories. Make sure that all parent directories (here /opt, /opt/apache and /opt/apache/logs) have the x-bit set for, at minimum, the UID under which Apache's children are running (see the User directive).
Advantages Of Private Key Encryption
Why does mod_ssl stop with the error 'Failed to generate temporary 512 bit RSA private key' when I start Apache?
Cryptographic software needs a source of unpredictable data to work correctly. Many open source operating systems provide a 'randomness device' that serves this purpose (usually named /dev/random). On other systems, applications have to seed the OpenSSL Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG) manually with appropriate data before generating keys or performing public key encryption. As of version 0.9.5, the OpenSSL functions that need randomness report an error if the PRNG has not been seeded with at least 128 bits of randomness.
Generate Ssl Private Key On Apache Server
To prevent this error, mod_ssl has to provide enough entropy to the PRNG to allow it to work correctly. This can be done via the SSLRandomSeed directive.