How to generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) on Internet Explorer

A CSR is encoded text that contains information about the certificate requester. This information includes, but is not limited to, the publisher name for the certificate (referred to as a "Common Name"), organization name (if applicable), and a contact email for the certificate. The process of generating the CSR and corresponding private key – which is required during installation and should not be shared – is a little different with Code Signing Certificates compared to other security products such as SSL Certificates.

Instead of generating the CSR and private key on your server or signing platform, the issuing Certificate Authority (CA) has supplied your Code Signing Provider with a unique script that allows you – the certificate requester - to generate the CSR and private key securely via browser during the enrollment process in your account. This process is very convenient for users and eliminates the hassle of running complicated command lines to output the required key pair.

CSR Generation Instructions

You will need to use Internet Explorer in order to securely generate your Code Signing certificate. This browser has a unique function which allows for the CSR and accompanying private key to be generated securely and easily. 

Note: The private key will be stored in the browser's certificate manager folder. You will obtain a copy of this after the certificate has been issued and downloaded in the same browser.

The following instructions will guide you through the CSR generation and enrollment process.

  1. Open IE
  2. Login to your account on your SSL provider's website.
  3. Locate your Incomplete Code Signing
  4. Click Generate Cert Now
  5. You may be prompted to allow the browser to generate the certificate, make sure to allow this!
  6. Enter the required certificate information 
  7. Click Submit
  8. The browser will generate the key pair
  9. Congrats! You now have an Order Number

The next step is to complete validation as required by the Certificate Authority. Please contact our live support team if you have any questions!