Creating certificates

You can create certificates for use in WinGate from the Certificates panel, located at Control Panel > Certificates in the WinGate Management console.

To create a certificate:

1. Open the WinGate Management console.
2. Navigate to Control Panel > Certificates.
3. On the Certificates panel, right click and select Add certificate from the menu. This will open the Details of the Certificate dialog.

   

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4. In the Certificate Name field, enter a suitable name to identify the certificate.
5. In the Name or Server field, enter the server name of the WinGate server.
6. Fill in the remaining fields as required. Only the Certificate Name, and Name or Server fields are compulsory, however the other details make identifying the purpose of the certificate much easier.
7. Select the Encrypt Certificate option if you want the certificate to be encrypted. When you encrypt a certificate, it will be stored on your computer in an encrypted form. This does not affect the way in which WinGate will use the certificate. Ticking the Encrypt Certificate (Optional) checkbox will open the Encryption Options dialog.

   

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   • Encryption

     There are two different encryption schemes offered.

     1. DES in CBC mode

     2. 3DES in EDE CBC mode

     If you chose to encrypt the certificate, you must specify the type of encryption you wish to use. Either of these two schemes can be chosen.

   • Options

     The exponent option lets you set what type of exponent will be used in the calculation of the encryption.

     The two options from this drop-down box are:

     1. Use 65537 for the exponent
     2. Use 3 for the exponent

     It should be noted that there is a trade off between security and speed. Using a smaller exponent in the Options field means a faster, but less secure operation.

   • Size

     This refers to the size of the private key, expressed in bits.

   • Passphrase

     The passphrase is used to decrypt the private key from persistent storage. The longer the passphrase is, the more securely it will be stored. The Passphrase and Confirm fields must match.

8. Click Next on the Encryption Options screen. This will open the Confirm Details dialog which shows you the final details of the certificate you are about to generate. All the fields you have filled in will be displayed.

   

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9. Click Finish to finalize the creation of the certificate, and you will be returned to the Certificates panel.
10. On the Certificates panel check to see that the newly generated certificate is listed. You can then use that certificate to identify your VPN, WinGate Mail SMTP server, or as required for your SSL bindings on applicable WinGate network services.

    Note

    If you have chosen to encrypt your certificate, it may take a few seconds to appear on the Certificate panel. The speed at which certificates are generated, is dependent on the length of the passphrase used in the encryption, and the processing power of the WinGate computer.