Date: 2012nov28 OS: Linux Q. How can I generate .key and .csr files for an SSL certificate? A. The .key file is your secret key The .csr files is your Certificate Signing Request Generate the key:

openssl genrsa -out SERVER.key 2048

Remove the password:

openssl rsa -in SERVER.key -out SERVER.nopass.key

Make the CSR:

openssl req -new -key SERVER.nopass.key -out SERVER.csr

Where SERVER is your host name - example.com Now send the .csr to your certificate issuer. You'll get a .crt file back. Convert it into a .pem http://www.davekb.com/search.php?target=pem+file When your .crt expires you do NOT have to redo these steps. Just resend the .csr