purlblog

Promised Root CA Instructions

This little blog is information about how to import the certificate authority I use. As time allows, I may be having my web server re-writing some of the URLs auto-magically into the "https" space (thus eliminating the non-secure access to said URLs). By importing the root CA used to sign the SSL certificate I use to secure www.jamespurl.com, the secure page will just "come up" OR you will get warnings. Right now, you (probably) get warnings if you are using any https: parts of the site. It's tough to know if the warnings are benign or not. Importing the cert will remove the "benign" warnings. This will be of particular importance to those using the CGI::IRC portal as I will be rewriting those URLs first.

Okay, down, to business:

1. Go to CA Cert's site
2. Click "Root Certificate"
3. For IE, click the link for importing the root cert into IE. The link uses ActiveX, so you might have to allow it to run if on XP SP2. For Firefox, click the "Root Certificate (PEM Format)" under "Class 1 PKI Key" and allow for the key to at least be used to verify websites. In both browsers, there is a way to view the thumbprint (IE) or fingerprint (others) of the certificate. In Firefox, I believe you have to click "View Certificate" to see the fingerprint. Make sure the signatures for the cert you are installing matches the numbers on the Root Certificate page, which are located down below the links in the courier font.
4. Voila!