Microsoft Internet Information Server 4

Installing your Web Server Certificate

Your certificate will be sent to you by email. The email message includes the web server certificate that you purchased in the body of the email message.

Copy the certificate from the body of the email and paste it into a text editor (such as notepad) to create text files.

Note: For Windows NT 4.0, you must have at least Service Pack 4.0 or higher or Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0.

Installing your Web server Certificate

Start the Microsoft IIS Management Console and select your server.
Click on the Key Manager icon. Select your original key.
Select Install Key Certificate from the Key menu.
Choose Your Web Server Certificate .crt file sent to you via email. This file should be the name of your domain or company with a .crt extension. For example: Your Web Server.crt.
Type in your original key's password.
Click OK in the Server Bindings box.
Select Commit from the Computers menu. Click Yes to commit all changes.
Stop then Start Your Web Server

Test your certificate by using a browser to connect to your server. Use the https protocol directive (e.g. https://yourserver.com/) to indicate you wish to use secure HTTP.

Note: The padlock icon on your browser will be displayed in the locked position if your certificates are installed correctly and the server is properly configured for SSL.

Backing up your key pair file

Unlike other files, key pair files (key pair = private key + certificate) cannot just be copied. To make a backup, you must Export to a Backup File. To restore your system, you must do an Import from a Backup File.

Note: This process assumes identical web server configurations are used for exporting the key as well as for importing the key. So both servers must be IIS. It is not advisable to move a certificate from one type of server to another.

Exporting your key

Open your Microsoft Management Console via the IIS Internet Service Manager.
Click to open the Key Manager.
Select the key to be exported.
Select the Key menu and choose Export Key to a Backup File. Click OK in the Key Manager Warning box.
Specify the destination for saving your key, press OK.
Close your Key Manager and Management Console windows.

Important: Please remember your password that was used to install your certificate. You will need this password if you ever need to recover your certificate through the import process.

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