How to install OpenSSL for Windows

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How to install OpenSSL for Windows

Openssl Windows download 64-bit

You may find the right source to install here: https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html

Install OpenSSL:

  • Run the downloaded installer.
  • During installation:
    • Choose the option to copy OpenSSL DLLs to the Windows system directory (optional but convenient).
    • Note the installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\OpenSSL-Win64).

Add OpenSSL to PATH:

  • Open the Start menu (on your device), search for Environment Variables , and click Edit the system environment variables.
  • Under System Properties, click Environment Variables.
  • In the System variables section, find the Path variable and click Edit.
  • Add the path to OpenSSL’s bin folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\OpenSSL-Win64\bin).

Verify Installation:

  • Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run:
    openssl version
  • If installed correctly, it will output the OpenSSL version.

Generating SSL Certificates After Installation

Once OpenSSL is installed, you can generate SSL certificates and keys using the following command:

openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout private.key -x509 -days 365 -out certificate.crt

Running this command in Command Prompt will run a few basic questions that you will have to answer:

After you answer those questions, you should run the “dir” command, which should generate a list of items on your device. You should search for the certificate.crt and private.key items. This way, you ensure they exist and are ready to be used.

Generating SSL Certificates to the Project file

In order to generate SSL Certificates inside of the Project file we are working in, we have to open the project file path in the terminal. In my example case it is C:\Users\38163\Desktop\12 method security>

Now, inside the project file, we should run the following command:

openssl req -nodes -new -x509 -keyout private.key -out certificate.crt -days 365

As run, it will instantly generate a private.key file. Also it will provide us with a few questions that we will have to answer in order to finish the creation of the certificates.crt file that we need. Questions are very basic. As soon as we have answered all of them both of the files will be inside of the root directory of our project file.

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