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SSL Installation Guideline for Microsoft Exchange 2003

Step By Step Information for Microsoft Exchange 2003 SSL Installation

If you have not yet completed the procedure of CSR generation for issuing an SSL certificate, please follow this link to access a stepwise procedure.

If you wish to install an EV SSL certificate, please click here to follow stepwise procedure. If you are installing other type of SSL certificates, follow the steps given below:

Step 1 – Open the '.zip' file that contains your file. Now, copy the file named 'your_domain_name.cer' to the desktop of the web-server you intend to secure.

Step 2 – Open the 'Internet Services Manager' by clicking on 'Administrative Tools'. Now, right-click on the default website for which the CSR was created, then select 'Properties'. The certificate can only be installed on the website, for which you created the CSR.

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Step 3 – Click on the tab of ‘Directory Security’. In the ‘Secure communications’ section, click on the ‘Server Certificate’ button, which will start the certificate wizard. Proceed by clicking on ‘Next’ button.

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Step 4 – From the window suggesting a pending request, click on the option 'Process the pending request and install the certificate'.

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Step 5 – Click on the 'Next' button after browsing for your SSL certificate. You need to locate your_domain_name.cer. To conclude the procedure, follow the rest of the wizard steps.

Test your SSL certificate

Normally the servers instantly start using the newly installed SSL certificate, without restarting. However, you can always verify if the SSL certificate has been installed successfully by using our SSL tool.

And, the best way to test a newly installed SSL certificate by using a browser is done by visiting its secure URL with a browser other than Internet Explorer. Experts recommend this because unlike other web browsers, Internet Explorer is able to verify your website with or without an intermediate certificate. If all the web browsers, except Internet Explorer, give warnings about your site not being trusted, then you need to install an intermediate certificate as per the instructions given below.

Please note if the ISA 2004/2006 users are not able to send the intermediate certificate, then they need to fully reboot their servers. It has been confirmed by many users that an ISA server will not send the intermediate certificate chain until it is rebooted completely.

However, if you still find your server not using the new certificate or is not loading the ‘https’ connection, then you need to shutdown the server completely and restart it later.

How to Backup the SSL Certificate & Private Key

Creating a backup is always a clever step to perform. A backed up certificate and private key proves very beneficial in case the server crashes. Therefore, it is very important to backup your certificate, which also includes the private key as well. Please follow the instructions given here to backup the SSL certificate and private key.

How to Import the Intermediate Certificate

After installing an SSL certificate on the server, if your clients are getting any warning messages, which say the certificate was issued by a company that is not trusted, then the users need to import the intermediate certificate for fixing the problem.

Step 1 – To get started, download the certificate file of 'CA.crt' by logging into Certificate Authority account and save it to your desktop.

Step 2 – Next, double-click on the certificate. This step will open the certificate, as shown in the image below:

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Step 3 – Click on 'Install Certificate…' button at the bottom of the window (as shown in the image above). This step will initiate the certificate import wizard. Now, click 'Next'.

Step 4 – From the options given in the wizard, select the option of 'Place all certificates in the following store' as shown in the image below and click on the 'Browse' button.

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Step 5 – Click on 'Show physical stores' box and expand the Intermediate Certification Authorities folder. Now, select the underlying Local Computer folder and click on 'OK'. After that, you need to click on Next > Finish.

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Step 6 – With this step, your intermediate certificate is installed. You may need to restart the server.

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