To Make a Digital Certificate

You can make your own digital certificate for testing or distributing your applications inside your company. A digital certificate can be created with the Make Certificate (MakeCert.exe) tool that is part of the Windows SDK. You can learn more about the MakeCert.exe tool from Microsoft's website (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bfsktky3(v=vs.110).aspx).

Note: Prior to releasing your custom program files, it is recommended to obtain a digital certificate from a vendor such as Symantec ^™ and DigiCert ^® . Then use that digital certificate for the final release.

The following is an example of making a private key and digital certificate with the MakeCert.exe tool:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.1\Bin\MakeCert.exe" -r -sv MyCert.pvk -n "CN=DevABC" MyCert.cer -b 12/22/2014 -e 12/31/2015

• "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\<version>\Bin\MakeCert.exe" - Specifies the location of the MakeCert.exe tool.
• -r - Indicates that the certificate is self-signed.
• -sv MyCert.pvk - Specifies the location of the subject's file for the certificate. In this example, the file is named MyCert.pvk.
• -n "CN=DevABC" - Specifies the publisher's name for the certificate. In this example, the name is DevABC.
• MyCert.cer - Specifies the name of the file that the certificate will be exported to. In this example, the exported certificate is stored in a file named MyCert.cer.
• -b 12/22/2014 - Specifies the start date of the digital certificate. In this example, that date is 12/22/2014.
• -e 12/31/2015 - Specifies the end date of the digital certificate. In this example, that date is 12/31/2015.

To make the digital certificate, do the following:

1. Do one of the following to display the Windows Command prompt:
   • Windows 7: Click the Windows Start button All Programs Accessories Command prompt.
   • Windows 8: On the Windows Start screen, right-click (or use the swipe up gesture from the bottom edge of the screen) and click All Apps. Scroll to the Windows System section, and click Command Prompt.
   • Windows 8.1: On the Windows Start screen, click the All Apps button located near the lower-left corner of the screen (or use the swipe up gesture from the bottom edge of the screen). Scroll to the Windows System section, and click Command Prompt.
   Tip: On Windows 8/Windows 8.1, on the Start screen, type command and click Command Prompt in the Search pane.
2. In the Windows Command Prompt window, type cd %userprofile%\Documents and press Enter to set the Documents folder as the current working folder. If you want to use a different working directory, specify that location instead.
3. Type the location of the MakeCert.exe and the arguments that should be executed.
4. In the Create Private Key Password dialog box, in the Password and Confirm Password text boxes, enter the password to secure the certificate. Click OK.
5. In the Enter Private Key Password dialog box, type the password for the certificate and click OK.

   The Private Key (PVK) and Certificate (CER) files are created.