CSR or Certificate Signing Request is a block encrypted text which is given to a certificate authority when a person wants to obtain an SSL Certificate. This Certificate is used to encrypt the communication between the user and the web server.
Creating a CSR is a simple process and can be done with OpenSSL which is a free software package that comes with every Linux system. It is a command line tool that allows you to generate a CSR file in a secure environment.
First, you need to be sure that OpenSSL is installed and configured properly on your system. Once this is done, you can use it to create a CSR for your SSL Certificate in Linux.
Once you have created a CSR, you can then submit it to your chosen certificate authority (CA). The CA will then verify the information and if everything is in order, they will issue your SSL Certificate.
You should always make sure that you have a valid SSL Certificate before you attempt to install it on your website. This ensures that you can securely encrypt and decrypt your users’ data.
After you have created the CSR, it is important to keep the private key safe. You should not share it with anyone else and it should be stored in a secure location.
To keep your CSR and your private key safe, you should create a password for the file that holds both. This will prevent unauthorized people from accessing your SSL Certificate and gaining sensitive information about your business.
This password will be used to protect your key when you run openssl again to generate the ECDSA private key with the CSR that you previously created. In addition to using a password, you should also save your generated private key in a place where it can easily be found later when you need it.
If you have not saved your private key, the certificate will not be able to be installed. Depending on your needs, you may need to repeat the process of generating the CSR and key.
Step 1: Generating Your Key and CSR
To generate your key and certificate, you need to be logged into the Linux system via SSH. Most Linux systems have a terminal window that you can log into by pressing Ctrl-Alt-T or Ctrl-F1 on the keyboard.
Once you have logged into the Linux system, launch a command prompt and type the following commands. Replace your_domain with the domain name you want to secure.
When generating a CSR, you must enter the details about your organization and your domain, including the name of the administrator. You must also provide the country and city that your organization is located in.
