A purchased certificate is the best form of security. Because the certificate is both secure and trusted, visitors will not receive a warning popup window when viewing a secure page.

Note: A dedicated (static) IP address is required for the installation of a purchased certificate.

To install a purchased SSL certificate, do the following:

1. First, purchase a certificate by going to /order, then select the SSL certificate options that best suits you and click Next.

Note: If you’re purchasing one of our plans, then select the plan and click Next. You will eventually come to a page with an option for adding an SSL certificate.

1. After clicking Next, enter your domain name, click Search , then select your billing cycle and select Dedicated IP Address.
2. Login with your Slamdot account email address and password, or create a new account if you don’t already have one.
3. Read the terms & conditions and registration agreement, then select I Agree to move on and select your payment option.
4. After you have completed your order, you will receive an email from Thawte that will step you through the process of creating your new SSL certificate. However, before you can create your new SSL Certificate through Thawte, you will need to generate a CSR (or RSA Private Key) through your Slamdot control panel:
   • Sign in to your Slamdot account at the Slamdot login page.
   • On your dashboard under “My Websites,” select a domain name.
   • Click the Advanced tab.
   • Click the SSL Settings link across the top.
   • Click Generate CSR under “Certificate Request” on the right.
   • Enter the appropriate information in the form

Note: The Country Code is simply the two-letter abbreviation for your country (i.e. US).

• Click Create Request to generate a CSR.
• Copy the text (including the “BEGIN/END CERTIFICATE REQUEST” sections) for the RSA Private Key into a plain text editor such as Windows Notepad and save the file to your hard drive. You will need this CSR when you purchase a certificate.
  1. Proceed to follow the directions in the email from Thawte for creating your SSL Certificate.
  2. You will be asked for the following information:
• the CSR created in your Slamdot control panel
• the software that generated the CSR
• your common name (your domain name)

The CSR

Simply paste the CSR that you saved, including the “BEGIN/END CERTIFICATE REQUEST” sections. Please ensure the CSR is saved and pasted as plain text.

Software that Generated the CSR

Choose Apache-ModSSL, or “Other” if you don’t see Apache-ModSSL in the list. Do not worry about making a mistake, as this information is collected for statistics purposes only.

Your Common Name

The “Common Name” refers to the address of your site that will go on the SSL certificate. Enter this address without the “http://” unless otherwise specified by the certificate seller.

1. Now that you have the newly-created certificate from Thawte, you need to install it by going to your Slamdot account and navigating back to Advanced :: SSL Settings
2. Select Private under “Certificate Option.”
3. Paste the CA Root Certificate you retreived from Thawte into the text box if it isn’t already there, then make sure to check Yes, my certificate requires a CA Root Certificate.

Although the installation of a CA Root Certificate is not always required, you may find that your SSL certificate will not function properly without completion of this step.

1. The RSA Private Key (CSR) and SSL Certificate should both be pasted into the appropriate text boxes.
2. Click Save changes.