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Consider this: You’re an IT administrator in charge of configuring multiple apps on your company’s network. These apps fulfill diverse functions and are exclusively for internal usage. You want to ensure that the data communicated over the web between these applications is encrypted and safeguarded as part of your security procedures.
But, obtaining cheap SSL certificate from a publicly trusted Certificate Authority (CA) for each application would be impractical and create a massive dent in the organization’s pockets. So, what other options can you use to achieve your goal?
In this situation, employing self-signed certificates will be the best alternative. It will establish secure connections between apps while keeping the encryption process manageable and within the organization’s control. These certificates are able to secure the security and confidentiality of transmitted data without relying on other parties.
A self-signed certificate is signed by its own issuer rather than a trusted third-party Certificate Authority (CA). As a CA does not sign it, these certificates are not recognized and are even flagged by default in modern web browsers, such as Mozilla, Chrome, and others.
In summary, a self-signed certificate is an SSL cert signed using its own private key and is not linked to any intermediate certificate or root CA certificate.
Follow the steps given below to create a self-signed certificate in IIS manager:
Step 1: Click on Search, type IIS Manager, and press Enter.
Step 2: Double-click the Server Certificates option in the Internet Information Service (IIS) Manager window.
Step 3: Under the Actions section, click Create Self-Signed Certificate.
Step 4: In the Create Self-Signed Certificate window, input a name of your choice in the Specify a friendly name for the certificate box. (Example – Test_Self-Signed_Certificate.)
Step 5: Click OK.
Let’s attach a self-signed certificate to a website now that we’ve successfully produced one.
Read Also: Creating Self-Signed SSL Certificate in Powershell – A Detailed Guide
Follow the steps given below to bind the certificate:
Step 1: Open the IIS Manager, and under the Connection section, expand localhost.
Step 2: Expand Sites and click on Default Web Site.
Step 3: In the right pane, under the Edit Site section, click Bindings.
Step 4: In the Site Bindings dialog box, click Add.
Step 5: In the Add Site Binding dialog box, from the Type list, select https.
Step 6: From the SSL certificate list, select the self-signed certificate that you created earlier. (In this case – Test_Self-Signed_Certificate)
Step 7: Click OK.
Let’s test the website now that we’ve successfully linked the certificate.
Follow the steps given below to test the website:
Step 1: Open IIS Manager.
Step 2: In the Actions tab, click Browse *:443 (https) under the Browse Website section.
Step 3: A new window in your browser will open.