Lecture Notes: Installing a Self-Signed SSL Certificate on Ubuntu 18.04

Introduction to SSL

• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): Protocol for secure and encrypted transactions between browser and websites.
• Function: Generates a certificate for authentication.

Pre-requisites

• LAMP Setup: Required on your system.
• OpenSSL Package: Must be installed (use command openssl).

Steps to Install Self-Signed SSL Certificate

Creating a Self-Signed SSL Certificate

• Command: Use openssl
  • Specify protocol as x509 for self-signing.
  • Use -nodes to skip passphrase option for Apache access.
  • Set expiry with -days 365.
  • Create new key with RSA algorithm (2048 bits).
  • Specify -keyout for private key file destination.
  • Specify -out for certificate file destination.

Creating Directory and Index File

• New Directory: Create inside HTML directory.
• Index File: Create within the new directory, add content, save, and exit.

Configuring Virtual Host

• Configuration File: Create mine-ssl.conf for virtual host.
  • Mention port number for HTTPS.
  • Enable SSL engine.
  • Provide certificate and private key paths.
  • Specify server name and document root.
• Save and Exit: From the configuration file.

Enabling Site Access and SSL Module

• Enable Site: For new virtual host configuration.
• Disable Default Site: Access using command line.
• Enable SSL Module: Required for SSL operation.
• Restart Apache Service: Use command line.

Verification

• Open Browser: Input URL with domain or local IP.
• Handle Security Warning:
  • Click 'Advanced'.
  • Add and confirm security exception.
• Result: Secured access with HTTPS.

Conclusion

• Summary: Steps to create and configure a self-signed SSL certificate on Ubuntu 18.04.
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