Mac Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples

∟Keychain Access - Certificate Manager

∟Create My Own Root CA on macOS

This section provides a tutorial example on how to create self-signed root CA for yourself on macOS using Keychain Access.

If you want to learn more about PKI technologies, you can use Keychain Access on your macOS computer to play the root CA (Certificate Authority) role. If everyone trusts you, you can issue certificates for others to use on the Internet.

The first step to become a root CA is to create self-signed root CA certificate as shown below:

1. Run Keychain Access.

2. Click "Keychain Access > Certificate Assistant > Create a Certificate Authority" menu. The Certificate Assistant dialog box shows up.

3. Enter the following and click "Continue". 

Name: Herong Yang's CA
Identity Type: Self Signed Root CA
User Certificate: S/MIME (Email)
[x] Let me override defaults
Email from: Herong_yang@yahoo.com

4. Enter the following and click "Continue". 

Serial Number: 1
Validity Period: 365 days
[ ] Create a CA web site
[ ] Sign your invitation

5. Enter the following your information like name, organization, address, etc., to allow others to verify and trust you. And click "Continue".

6. Select "521 bits" as Key Size "ECC" as Algorithm for your root CA certificate. And click "Continue".

7. Continue to enter "Key Usage Extensions" and other settings for your root CA certificate.

8. Repeat to enter default settings for generating new certificates for others in the future.

9. Select "System" keychain as the location to store your root CA certificate and future certificates generated from this CA.

10. Enter the Admin password to finish the process.

Create Self-Signed Root CA with Keychain Access
Create Self-Signed Root CA with Keychain Access

Table of Contents

 About This Book

 Macintosh OS (Operating System) History

 macOS Operating System

 macOS File Systems

 macOS Network Connections

 System and Application Processes

 Keychain Access - Password Manager

►Keychain Access - Certificate Manager

 Using Keychain Access as Certificate Manager

 Listing of Trusted Root CA in macOS

 Exporting Root Certificate to File from macOS

 Delete/Untrust Certificates from macOS

 Import Server Certificates to macOS

►Create My Own Root CA on macOS

 Review My Root CA Certificate on macOS

 Review Private Key of My CA Certificate on macOS

 Generate CSR (Certificate Signing Request) on macOS

 Issue New Certificate with My CA on macOS

 Verify Certificate Signed by My CA on macOS

 Manage Keychains with Commands

 Keychain File Locations on macOS

 CA Certificates at "/etc/ssl | /private/etc/ssl"

 Productivity Tools on macOS

 Programming Tools on macOS

 Apache Web Server on macOS

 Develop and Run Java Applications

 Full Version in PDF/EPUB