This information is for web server administrators on campus. We are responsible for all digital certificates on campus. To obtain a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate for your web server, follow the procedure below.

An SSL certificate will allow the traffic to and from specific web pages on your web server to be encrypted so that it is harder for hackers to view this information if they are able to catch it during transfer. These are mainly used for secure transactions like credit card information or highly private information.

This procedure outlines how to obtain an SSL certificate.

1. Generate a CSR file.

   This is a "Certificate Signing Request". It is an encoded version of the basic information about you, your company, and your server. The information is used to generate a unique certificate that is digitally signed by Thawte and uniquely identifies your server as legitimate. In order to generate this file, please refer to http://www.thawte.com/html/SUPPORT/server/index.html.

   Find the section that corresponds to the web server you are running and follow the instructions provided. When you have finished you should have a file that looks something like the following:

   -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- MIIBPTCB6AIBADCBhDELMAkGA1UEBhMCWkExFTATBgNVBAgTDFdlc3Rlcm4gQ2Fw ZTESMBAGA1UEBxMJQ2FwZSBUb3duMRQwEgYDVQQKEwtPcHBvcnR1bml0aTEYMBYG A1UECxMPT25saW5lIFNlcnZpY2VzMRowGAYDVQQDExF3d3cuZm9yd2FyZC5jby56 YTBaMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA0kAMEYCQQDT5oxxeBWu5WLHD/G4BJ+PobiC9d7S 6paasjuyC+dPAnL0d91tXdm2j190D1kgDoSp5ZyGSgwJh2V7diuuPlHDAgEDoAAw DQYJKoZIhvcNAQEEBQADQQBf8ZHIu4H8ik2vZQngXh8v+iGnAXD1AvUjuDPCWzFu pReiq7UR8Z0wiJBeaqiuvTDnTFMz6oCq6htdH7/tvKhh -----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----

2. Follow the instructions to enter in your corporate contact info and your technical contact info. The corporate contact MUST have financial signing authority in your department. (This should be the same signature as the INDENT you send over to CNS). The technical contact should be the administrator in charge of your server. The organization is "University of Alberta". For example, "The University of Alberta" will not work. Neither will "University of Alberta Department of XYZ".

3. Send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it outlining the request. Please include the name of the server, how long you would like the certificate for, whether you would like a GlobalSign or a Thawte certificate, and what type of server you are securing.

4. You will also need to submit an indent signed by the same corporate contact you indicated in step 2 to Gordana Brouilette in 309 GSB. Please put the name of the server on the indent.

5. Once the indent has been received and the request reviewed and the certificate will be issued. The technical contact will receive an email detailing how to obtain the signed certificate.