How To Install The Root Certificate

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Revision as of 13:40, 6 June 2014 by Derekp (talk | contribs) (Removed Mozilla/Netscape instructions)
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Some of ECE's SSL-encrypted departmental and research group websites each have server certificates which have been signed by the Department's Certficate Authority (CA). Being self-signed, the Department's Root Certificate is not recognized by any web browser, be it Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or other. Therefore, your web browser will warn you that it cannot the identity of the webserver when when accessing these websites.

To avoid these warnings, you should add the ECE Department's Root Certificate to your browser's list of trusted certificate authorities. After adding the Root Certificate, you should no longer receive warnings about our server certificates (until the ECE Root Certificate expires in May 2019).

To install the Root Certificate, please find application-specific instructions below. Please note that you may need to delete the previously installed ECE Certificate Authority certificate (aka Root Certificate) before installing the new one. Instructions on managing certificate authorities is included below.

Please ensure that the certificate you retrieve has the following fingerprint(s):

  • SHA1 Fingerprint=4D:AF:E2:C2:CE:A4:52:E8:54:76:70:B1:C3:45:F1:42:C9:F7:E4:CA
  • MD5 Fingerprint=8E:0B:D9:B7:0A:EF:BE:A2:3E:CE:27:D0:25:FD:7E:27

Internet Explorer, Safari, and Google Chrome on Windows

To install the Root Certificate:

  1. Click here, CA.ece.ubc.ca.crt, to download the certificate.
  2. Open the downloaded certificate. If using Internet Explorer, click on the "Open" button in the dialog that appears. If using Safari, double-click the CA.ece.ubc.ca.crt file that is saved to your Desktop to open it. In Chrome, open the downloaded file through the status bar.
  3. In the "Details" tab, verify that the SHA1 thumbprint matches the one listed shown above.
  4. In the "General" tab, click on the 'Install Certificate...' button in the window that opens.

To manage already installed certificates (so that you can delete the old one, if necessary):

  1. In the Windows Control Panel, select "Internet Options" to open the "Internet Options" dialog box. (In Internet Explorer, the "Internet Options" dialog box can also be accessed via the "Tools" menu.)
  2. Select the "Content" tab and click on the "Certificates..." button to open the "Certificates" dialog box.
  3. Select the "Trusted Root Certification Authorities" tab.
  4. Find the certificate you wish to manage / remove. Our certificate appears as "ECE Certificate Authority".

Mozilla Firefox

To install the Root Certificate:

  1. Click here, CA.ece.ubc.ca.crt.
  2. On the dialog box that appears, check all three boxes:
  • Trust this CA to identify web sites.
  • Trust this CA to identify email users.
  • Trust this CA to identify software developers.
  1. Click on the "View" button and verify the SHA1 and MD5 thumbprints with those above.
  2. Click the "OK" to install the certificate.

To manage already installed certificates (so that you can delete the old one, if necessary):

  1. From the "Tools" menu, select "Options..." to open the "Options" dialog box.
  2. Click on the "Advanced" icon, then click on the "View Certificates" button to open the "Certificate Manager" dialog box.
  3. Select the "Authorities" tab.
  4. Find the certificate you wish to manage / delete. Our certificate appears under "University of British Columbia."

Safari and Mac OS X

To install the Root Certificate:

  1. Click here, CA.ece.ubc.ca.crt, and download the file to your Desktop.
  2. Open the downloaded CA.ece.ubc.ca.crt file. The "Keychain Access" application will open and an "Add Certificates" dialog box will appear.
  3. Select "System" from the drop-down list in the import window to install it for all users on the machine, or "Login" from the drop-down list to install it only for the current user account. (In older versions of Mac OS X, select "X509 Anchors" instead.)
  4. Click on the "Add" (or "Install Certificate…") button.

To manage already installed certificates (so that you can delete the old one, if necessary):

  1. Open the "Keychain Access" application (usually found in /Applications/Utilities/)
  2. Search for "ECE Certificate Authority". Select the certificate you want to manage or delete.


iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch)

To install the Root Certificate:

  1. Open this page in Safari, and open this link, CA.ece.ubc.ca.crt. You should then see an "Install Profile" screen.
  2. Tap "More Details", then select the certificate. Verify the correctness of the signature (7B 6B 18 EF AB 5E B8...) and key identifier (E6 D2 D9 0C 06...).
  3. Go back to the "Install Profile" screen and tap the "Install" button.

  • Opening the certificate

  • Verifying the certificate

To manage already installed certificates (so that you can delete the old one, if necessary):

  1. Open the "Settings" application
  2. Under General → Profiles, select "ECE Certificate Authority".
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