Creating Public/Private Key Files |
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This documentation page describes a feature of version 3.3 of Iguana. For information on how to create public/private key files in version 4.0 or later of Iguana, see Creating Public/Private Key Files. | ||
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In order to enable HTTPS support for use with Iguana, you must first generate valid public key/private key certificates. These digital certificates are used to authenticate the sender. Keys are typically generated in pairs, with one being public and the other being private. If you use OpenSSL to generate the certificates, the private key will contain public key information; therefore, the public key does not have to be generated separately.
The private key must be kept secret to ensure security. It is used to encrypt outgoing messages and decrypt incoming messages. A public key is the one that is released to the public. It allows anyone to use it for encrypting messages to be sent to the user, as well as for decrypting messages received from the user.
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This section shows you how to create a public/private key file using OpenSSL. You can download a copy of OpenSSL for either Windows or Unix from http://www.openssl.org. If you wish, you can also choose another method to create a public/private key file. Note that Iguana does not offer support for public/private key files that are password protected. | ||
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To generate a public/private key file:
- Create a new directory on your C drive and give it an appropriate name (e.g. Test).
- Open a Command Prompt window and go to the new directory. For example:
C:\>cd Test C:\Test> |
- Enter the path of the OpenSSL install directory, followed by the RSA key algorithm. For example:
C:\Test>c:\openssl\bin\openssl genrsa -out privkey.pem 2048 Loading 'screen' into random state - done Generating RSA private key, 2048 bit long modulus .................................+++ ...........................................+++ e is 65537 (0x10001) |
The public/private key file is saved in the new directory you created earlier. An example of a public/private key file is shown below:
-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- MIIEpgIBAAKCAQEA6pwxy6uJ33RbkrsR0qNLzOD28gmAiwbp9bleH3UHb50Epa2i 20EDEseOAfsCQoGD+H9hS3vToZZTWeeYuE1qXyrva5i+aqubjQbxBFArjSShBEBr XrFmo+nFZsRRIzmXWtwo+Usu/fPEr/KQ45Q7uL6gb0q87LEiBF8uoI6vqSu7gXkp JWFoJWJ048HUthfyMLgmrarCuwH6fpdO0eqHxJ4/cvm0tBBM+/i2/fc5ruHvsADS JklflvK3ybKVxjHdghqejBIPk3tTQm5fg7uRu7SAMdKqe8VeIpP/ujXawF28gynh tZfBDuUACIAUg3gjj243HAmBDNezRfHmFpYlbwIDAQABAoIBAQCP4/p6gxwNi+z6 Inf866B66OMscX2AR15JEkbTHlDQOMp33vYKaWY8J15Ggq/RIGRTjbSbujeDXJKE ipHVP83kzo2HPWhUPioqJb6+uXjsmTGUTPpNWpqsH52tuOxWoWTeGjebJmyM3uyc STZqDilO1sPJXlpfBQjrC4GqgbjlFLugOKX4VviGvECcvsThL+7F+SKRJ6lekea2 LXK5Cj1W5w2/Kke62+rnZTUrbGGxm9Flxuy0PVSA/S0KI3fCE1bCi7NTXRstOAAz vZCyb7Z0gI29/0c2lyDTd6J3jxGEEpDQ37FB4pbWnUkX0ZVbMy6Y2VTeBZE0R3O4 SY6/ZIv5AoGBAP26AT9/u2XwKduIb2YtG5W6cX37FmBwzI5pditi0k4ngG21f9xo oye/c3BUoyF9TQ3jgWObZSPYocljJ8rzEkdfHJ8QhCYlVTmdInRjVRffgKOrHDjF 9FNK1ggXGLVwGmMbUUeIKXQRw4tKfPpLG0Qcgilx3y69aYHSP6qMVfcTAoGBAOy2 Vy5xzjq6U8RL1I1FncArJgB94ae0H2PkPYgmQnFCI87vuG7pv3wZvTK8P0RtFVtB 3n+CJZFVby1eTcqHPJkcmeeED323bCftMNW7tf/a7CBaH56k3dqh4h4v6+0P4pyo sqldHb3bqTsvc5o7KWTXDH+lx9zKlsuVDHR1rVe1AoGBAMFK3b6JSbN8BfdX9j3p 6VTkx6dJDKAF7uAjWcHts/eUQlPR7Il2Ma2LPZ966xgNRBFrm1vNu3xWgdJRNrR2 /xreS4imZXZGBKoymlf+gIoCXBbTuVlK/TojDfD1334B3ChaXE5ZXfMtwUGxSorH gwsdiM+YD4WlCOa8zIHaDXd/AoGBAJN7B9ZoEZWFgatLk6JxPVf9ii/EPlO+ZdBW 4/9v1vW5v5WuxbpU6HjpkHeL0d9QF35EC9xlugJSuHILz2vf1mGO8FTOcthg74Hw xfxkd4BxZazCefDdx1vwgHFOai/JNedlM+tRmLYxpb66UcxGEARD+AWPxHZLwqgU tS3aI6YBAoGBAKrnyHc3RN/kgyLvyngJUMuqDrbr2sS7TMm0fDoezunv6e7mtG6+ GExKDefmpvxmk2vsFU7feQSqiNBicDgOaiV8G1byvA3SauGmNhtRAXpgQMzAaJDI vT86Y0QyLeoUNcW+i8FNqEBpJiWqHnCe3FI6WmF+ISDP6MNHmjLJRG84 -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY----- |
A copy of this private key is available from this link: privkey.pem. This key is to be used for testing purposes only.
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In this example, the 2048 parameter to the openssl genrsa command indicates that the generated key is 2048 bits long. A key that is 2048 bits or longer is considered more secure. A shorter key will be less secure, but will require less computation to use. | ||
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