Configuring Your Control Panel 27
Securing Communication to Server with SSL
Encryption
For security reasons, you can access your control panel only through a secure
connection provided by Secure Sockets Layer-enabled hypertext transfer protocol. All
data you exchange with the Plesk managed server are encrypted, thus preventing
interception of sensitive information. The SSL certificate used in the data encryption
process is automatically generated and installed on the server during installation of the
control panel. This is the so-called self-signed certificate: it is not signed by a
recognized certification authority (CA), therefore, upon attempt to connect to your
control panel, you and your customers will see warning messages in Web browsers.
To gain customer confidence, you should purchase an SSL certificate from a reputable
certification authority, and install it to the control panel.
You can either:
use the facilities for purchasing SSL certificates from GeoTrust, Inc. or GoDaddy
provided by your control panel,
OR
create a certificate signing request (CSR) from the control panel and submit it to the
certification authority of your choice, which will create an SSL certificate for you.
Note: If you are going to use the control panel's facilities for purchasing a certificate
through MyPlesk.com online store, you should not use command line tools for
creating the certificate signing request.
To purchase an SSL certificate from GeoTrust, Inc. or GoDaddy through MyPleskCom
online store and secure your control panel:
1 Go to Server > Certificates. A list of SSL certificates that you have in
your repository will be displayed.
2 Click Add New Certificate.
3 Specify the certificate properties:
Certificate name. This will help you identify this certificate in the repository.
Encryption level. Choose the encryption level of your SSL certificate. We
recommend that you choose a value more than 1024 bit.
Specify your location and organization name. The values you enter should not
exceed the length of 64 symbols.
Specify the host name for which you wish to purchase an SSL certificate. For
example: your-domain.com
Enter your e-mail address.
4 Make sure that all the provided information is correct and accurate, as
it will be used to generate your private key.
5 Click Buy Cert.
Your private key and certificate signing request will be generated — do not delete
them. MyPlesk.com login page will open in a new browser window.
