Setting Up Digital Certificates for SSL under Windows

Perform the following tasks to set up digital certificates for SSL:

Methods of Requesting a Digital Certificate

Request a Digital Certificate from the Microsoft Certification Authority

Request a Digital Certificate from a Certification Authority That Is Not Microsoft

Import a Digital Certificate to a Certificate Store

Step 1. Configure SSL

Complete information about configuring your Windows operating environment for SSL is contained in the Windows installation documentation and at www.microsoft.com.

The following keywords might be helpful when searching the Microsoft Website:

digital certificate services
digital certificate authority
digital certificate request
site security planning

Step 2. Request a Digital Certificate

Methods of Requesting a Digital Certificate

The method of requesting a digital certificate depends on the CA that you use:

Request a Digital Certificate from the Microsoft Certification Authority
Request a Digital Certificate from a Certification Authority That Is Not Microsoft

Request a Digital Certificate from the Microsoft Certification Authority

Perform the following tasks to request digital certificates that are issued by the Microsoft Certification Authority:

System administrator: If you are running your own CA, use Microsoft Certificate Services to create an active Certification Authority (CA).
User:
1. Use the Certificate Request wizard to request a digital certificate from an active enterprise CA. The Certificate Request wizard lists all digital certificate types that the user can install.
2. Select a digital certificate type.
3. Select security options.
4. Submit the request to an active CA that is configured to issue the digital certificate.
  
  After the CA issues the requested digital certificate, the digital certificate is automatically installed in the Certificate Store. The installed digital certificate is highlighted, as shown in the following window:
  
  Digital Certificate Installation in the Certificate Store

Request a Digital Certificate from a Certification Authority That Is Not Microsoft

Users should perform the following tasks to request digital certificates that are not issued by the Microsoft CA:

Request a digital certificate from a CA.
Import the digital certificate to a Certificate Store by using the Certificate Manager Import wizard application from a web browser.

A digital certificate can be generated by using the Certificate Request wizard or any third-party application that generates digital certificates.

Note: The Windows operating environment can import digital certificates that were generated in the UNIX operating environment. To convert from UNIX (PEM format) to Windows (DER format) before importing, see Converting between PEM and DER File Formats for SSL.

For details about importing existing digital certificates, see Import a Digital Certificate to a Certificate Store.

Import a Digital Certificate to a Certificate Store

Digital certificates that were issued by a Certification Authority that is not Microsoft can be imported to an appropriate Certificate Store as follows:

Certificate Type	Certificate Storage Location
Client	Personal Certificate Store
Server	Personal Certificate Store
CA (self-signed)	Trusted Root Certification Authorities

Perform the following tasks to import a digital certificate to a Certificate Store:

Access the Certificate Manager Import wizard application from your web browser. From the Tools drop-down menu, select Internet Options.

Then select the Content tab, and click Certificates.

Specify the digital certificate to import to a Certificate Store by selecting the Personal tab in the Certificates window, as shown in the following window:

Digital Certificate Selections for a Personal Certificate Store
Click Import and follow the instructions to import digital certificates.

Repeat this task in order to import the necessary digital certificates for the CA, the server, and the client, as appropriate.
After you have completed the selections for your personal Certificate Store, select the appropriate tab to view your selections.
To view the details about a digital certificate, select the digital certificate and click View. Typical results are shown in the following window:

Digital Certificate Details Tab