Self-signing SSL certificate to secure web traffic on ClearOS on LINUX

Question

I am very much a beginner when it comes to SSL certificate for securing website traffic. I am currently running a Linux version of ClearOS web server. Everything works as it should, but now I want to use SSL certificate. I don't know where to begin. I already see certificate that the ClearOS came with (ca-cert.pem) and I have installed it. ClearOS did confirm that certificate was installed successfully, but when I go to my website using HTTPS, it is asking me to create an exception and still says connection is InSecure. Could someone give me an easy to follow steps in doing this. Preferably, I want to use a free certificate or the ones the ClearOS came with. Thank you.

Answer 1

The file you mention is not a certificate you can use for web server. This file contain the certificates of Certification Authorities which issue certificates. For manual how to create certificate please read this Q/A in Stackoverflow

Or read this article in Linux.com

Here's what we're going to do, in order:

Make sure Apache has SSL enabled.
Generate a certificate signing request (CSR).
Generate a self-signed certificate.
Copy the certificate and keys we've generated.
Tell Apache about the certificate.
Modify the VirtualHosts to use the certificate.
Restart Apache and test.

Answer 2

I figured out how to do this.

With Self-Signing SSL Certificate, the more I looked into it the more complicated it got. So, I looked alternative and found the following solution.

Simply, upgrade your ClearOS to the latest and the greatest. Then, login to your ClearOS Webconfig. From there, go to your Marketplace and look for an app called Letsencrypt This app is suppose to be free. So, go ahead and install it from webconfig. Once installed, reboot ClearOS or restart httpd service.

Once that is completed, go to Letsencrypt website, create an account and create your free SSL certificate. After it creates your free SSL Certificate, get your secret pin or password for your free certificate. Accordingly, apply it to your newly installed Letsencrypt app.

It should immediately take affect. On the side note, this Free SSL certificate from Letsencrypt is only good for 30 days. However, Letsencrypt auto-renews the certificate every 30 days. So, your web traffic will always be encrypted.

Of course, your job is not done yet. Now, you have to go through your website files and see which files are rejected as Unsecure by this encryption. Then, fix the issue. This has to be done page by page.