[Updated] OpenSSL is one of the most widely used tools in the field of SSL. Since the launch of the ”HTTPS Everywhere” campaign, the landscape of encryption has changed dramatically. If you do not use an SSL certificate, popular browsers such as Chrome and Firefox will not consider your site as a “secure” website. Therefore, this article will teach you How to Setup OpenSSL on RDP 2016 Server.
What is OpenSSL?
OpenSSL is a comprehensive encryption library that uses the TLS protocol, which is an open-source application. OpenSSL was first released in 1998 and is available for Linux, Windows, macOS, and BSD systems. It should be noted that OpenSSL allows users to do a variety of things with SSL, including creating a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) and generating private keys, as well as installing an SSL certificate. It is written in C. With OpenSSL, you can request a certificate for your digital certificate and install SSL files on your server. You can also convert your certificate to various SSL formats as well as perform a variety of authentications. All you have to do is learn a few common OpenSSL commands, and with each new certificate installed, the configuration process will be faster and easier. Because not all servers provide a web interface for SSL management, on some operating systems OpenSSL is the only solution for installing and configuring your certificate.
Some features of OpenSSL
In this section, we want to mention some of the features and applications of OpenSSL. These features include:
1. The OpenSSL library code is available from the official GitHub repository.
2. OpenSSL Tools is a collection of shell scripts for easier use of OpenSSL.
3. SSL Checker can help you diagnose problems with OpenSSL installation. Just enter the domain name.
4. The OpenSSL CSR tool can generate a CSR based on your input parameters.
5. Win32 OpenSSL is a distribution of OpenSSL that can be easily installed on Windows devices.
How To Install OpenSSL on RDP 2016
You must first go to the OpenSSL download page and download OpenSSL, which is compatible with your device’s CPU architecture.
You can also download OpenSSL by running the following command:
curl.exe -L -o Win64OpenSSL.exe https://slproweb.com/download/Win64OpenSSL-1_1_0j.exe
Now that you have successfully downloaded OpenSSL, we need to install it. To do this, you must run the installer through PowerShell:
.\Win64OpenSSL.exe
Note: If your system does not have Microsoft Visual++, the installer will display the following message. Because OpenSSL requires Microsoft Visual C++ to be installed on your system. You should Click ”Yes” to download and install the required Microsoft Visual C++ package on your system.
You will see that Microsoft Visual++ installs successfully:
Now you should accept the Software License Agreement and click ”Next”:
Next, you should select the destination folder, Where OpenSSL will install:
Also, you can select the directory for the Application shortcut:
In the next step, you should select additional tasks to perform.
You must click ”Install” to start the installation of OpenSSL on Windows Server 2016:
After the installation is complete, click ”Finish”.
Setup OpenSSL on RDP 2016
In order for OpenSSL to work properly on your system, you need to configure environment variables. After you have successfully installed OpenSSL, we will start it in this section. You are now ready to use OpenSSL on RDP 2016 to generate certificates. Export the OPENSSL_CONF file to get starting using the following command:
set OPENSSL_CONF=C:\OpenSSL-Win64\bin\openssl.cfg
Note: If your system is 32-bit, you can type and run the OpenSSL-Win32 command in the above command instead of OpenSSL-Win64.
Finally, you can create a test SSL certificate to verify your installation. To do this you can use the following command:
openssl.exe req -new -nodes -keyout server.key -out server.csr -newkey rsa:2048
Now you can use OpenSSL on RDP 2016 to generate certificates.
Conclusion
In this article, we first tried to define OpenSSL. In the next step, we mentioned some of its features to you. Then we taught you to step by step How to Setup OpenSSL on RDP 2016.
Share this Post
How to Setup Virtualbox on RDP 2016
Linda Evanty
Della
How do I verify that OpenSSL is installed correctly?
Jannson Miller
1. Connect to the Admin RDP session using the appropriate credentials.
2. Open the command prompt by pressing the Windows key + R, typing “cmd,” and clicking the “OK” button.
3. In the command prompt, type “openssl version” and press Enter.
– If OpenSSL is installed correctly, you should see the version number and build information printed on the screen. For example: “OpenSSL X.X.X [build information]”
– If OpenSSL is not installed or not properly configured, you may see an error message stating that the command is not recognized or not found.
If OpenSSL is not installed or not functioning correctly, you can either reinstall it or troubleshoot the issue by:
– Checking if OpenSSL is added to the system’s PATH environment variable.
– Verifying if the installation files and directory structure are correct.
– Installing the latest version of OpenSSL from the official website if necessary.
Cheri Hickey
How can I verify that OpenSSL is installed correctly?
Jannson Miller
To verify that OpenSSL is installed correctly on an admin RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) session, you can follow these steps:
Open the RDP session and ensure you have administrative privileges.
Launch the command prompt by pressing the Windows key + R, type “cmd,” and hit Enter.
In the command prompt window, type “openssl” and press Enter.
If OpenSSL is installed correctly, it will display the OpenSSL> prompt.
If OpenSSL is not installed or not added to the system’s PATH variable, it will display an error message, such as “‘openssl’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.”
Additionally, you can check the OpenSSL version by running the following command:
openssl versionBrittany
How can I use OpenSSL to encrypt and decrypt files?
Jannson Miller
Generate a key pair: To encrypt and decrypt files, you need a key pair consisting of a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.
Use the following commands to generate a key pair:
openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out private_key.pemopenssl rsa -pubout -in private_key.pem -out public_key.pemThe first command generates a private key and saves it in a PEM format file named private_key.pem. The second command extracts the public key from the private key file and saves it in a PEM format file named public_key.pem.
Encrypt a file: To encrypt a file using the public key, use the following command:
openssl rsautl -encrypt -pubin -inkey public_key.pem -in input_file.txt -out encrypted_file.txtReplace public_key.pem with the path to your public key file and input_file.txt with the path to the file you want to encrypt. The encrypted content will be saved in the encrypted_file.txt file.
Decrypt a file: To decrypt a file using the private key, use the following command:
openssl rsautl -decrypt -inkey private_key.pem -in encrypted_file.txt -out decrypted_file.txtReplace private_key.pem with the path to your private key file and encrypted_file.txt with the path to the file you want to decrypt. The decrypted content will be saved in the decrypted_file.txt file.
Ellen Dyer
what is the right way to generate a self-signed SSL certificate using OpenSSL on Windows Server 2016?
Jannson Miller
Generate the private key:
In the command prompt, enter the following command to generate a private key:
openssl genrsa -out private.key 2048Generate the certificate signing request (CSR):
Use the private key generated in the previous step to generate a CSR by running this command:
openssl req -new -key private.key -out csr.csrGenerate the self-signed certificate:
Execute the following command to generate a self-signed certificate using the private key and CSR:
openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in csr.csr -signkey private.key -out certificate.crtVerify the generated files:
Check the presence of the generated files, namely private.key, csr.csr, and certificate.crt.
Your self-signed SSL certificate (certificate.crt) and private key (private.key) are now ready to use.