Systems and methods for automated configuration of secure web site publishing

• US 20040250075A1
• Filed: 06/03/2003
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Anthe, Charles John II, Gok, Huseyin Gokmen
• Granted Patent: US 7,788,495 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/175
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods to automatically install and trust a self-signed (e.g., untrusted) web site certificate on one or more web clients local to the network. In addition, the systems and methods provide for automatic installation of the self-signed certificate and/or a signed (e.g., trusted) certificate on a web server, and automatic configuration to enable an authentication and/or encryption mechanism (e.g., SSL encryption) with at least a portion of the web site. Conventionally, certificate installation, configuration and trusting are achieved manually, which can be time consuming and prone to errors such as trusting a fictitious certificate, for example. The systems and methods of the present invention provide a novel approach to mitigate manual web site certificate installation (e.g., trusted and untrusted) and trusting, web client interruption via untrusted web site warning notifications, and domain web site redirection to a fictitious web site.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates web site certificate installation on local domain web clients, comprising:

an input component that obtains a web site certificate; and

a signature component that installs the certificate on the domain web client.

2. The system of claim 1, the web site certificate comprising one of a trusted and an untrusted web site certificate.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface that includes the input component.

4. The system of claim 3, the user interface comprising one of a wizard, an installation shell utility, and an API.

5. The system of claim 3, the user interface employed to interact with a web publisher to provide and/or create a self-signed web site certificate.

6. The system of claim 1, the signature component employed to automatically install the web site certificate to a web server.

7. The system of claim 6, the web server comprising an Internet Information Server (IIS).

8. The system of claim 6, the signature component further employed to automatically configure the web server to employ an encryption mechanism.

9. The system of claim 8, the encryption mechanism comprising Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.

10. The system of claim 1, the signature component employed to automatically install the web site certificate on the web client.

11. The system of claim 10, the signature component further employed to automatically configure the web client to employ an encryption mechanism.

12. The system of claim 11, the encryption mechanism comprising Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.

13. The system of claim 2, the signature component employed to automatically trust the self-signed web site certificate on the web client.

14. A system to automatically create, deploy and trust web site certificates, comprising:

a certificate generating component to create a self-signed web site certificate;

a certificate loading component to install the self-signed web site certificate on a web server and a domain web client; and

a certificate authenticating component to trust the self-signed web site certificate on the domain web client.

15. The system of claim 14, the self-signed web site certificate comprising at least one of a sever name, an external domain name, local server name and a local host name.

16. The system of claim 14, the loading component employed to automatically install the self-signed web site certificate to the web server.

17. The system of claim 16, the web server comprising an Internet Information Server (IIS).

18. The system of claim 16, the loading component further employed to automatically configure the web server to employ an encryption mechanism.

19. The system of claim 18, the encryption mechanism comprising Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.

20. The system of claim 18, the encryption mechanism configured to specifically require Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption in connection with a portion of the web site.

21. The system of claim 14, the authenticating component employed to automatically install the self-signed web site certificate on the domain web client.

22. The system of claim 21, the authenticating component further employed to automatically configure the domain web client to employ an encryption mechanism.

23. The system of claim 21, the encryption mechanism comprising Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.

24. The system of claim 14, the authenticating component employed to automatically trust the web site certificate on the domain web client.

25. A system to facilitate web site publishing, comprising:

a user interface component (UI) that receives a request to create a self-signed web site certificate;

a certificate creating component that creates a self-signed web site certificate upon receiving the request to create a web site certificate; and

a certificate loading component that installs the self-signed web site certificate on a web server and a domain web client.

26. The system of claim 25, the UI comprising one of a graphical user interface (GUI), a command line interface, and an API.

27. The system of claim 26, the GUI comprising at least one of a dialogue box, a static control, a drop-down-menu, a list box, a pop-up menu, a graphic box, a vertical scroll bar, a horizontal scroll bar, an edit control, a combo box, a radio button, a check box, and a push button.

28. The system of claim 25, the UI employed in connection with at least one of a mouse, a roller ball, a keypad, a keyboard, a pen and voice activation.

29. The system of claim 25, the self-signed web site certificate comprising at least one of an external domain name, local server name and a local host name.

30. The system of claim 25, the loading component employed to automatically install the self-signed web site certificate to a web server.

31. The system of claim 30, the web server comprising an Internet Information Server (IIS).

32. The system of claim 25, the loading component further employed to automatically configure the web server to employ an encryption mechanism.

33. The system of claim 32, the encryption mechanism comprising Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.

34. The system of claim 32, the encryption mechanism configured to specifically require Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption in connection with a portion of the web site.

35. The system of claim 25, the certificate loading component employed to automatically install the self-signed web site certificate on the domain web client.

36. The system of claim 35, the authenticating component further employed to automatically configure the domain web client to employ an encryption mechanism.

37. The system of claim 36, the encryption mechanism comprising Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.

38. The system of claim 25, the certificate loading component employed to automatically trust the web site certificate on the domain web client.

39. The system of claim 25, further comprising a component to alter the self-signed web site certificate by one of merging a modification into with the self-signed web site certificate and concatenating a modification with the self-signed web site certificate.

40. A method to automatically trust a self-signed web site certificate on a domain web client, comprising:

receiving a self-signed web site certificate associated with a web site;

automatically installing the self-signed web site certificate on a web server; and

automatically installing the self-signed web site certificate on a domain web client.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising automatically enabling SSL encryption on the web server and the web client.

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising automatically trusting the self-signed web site certificate on the web client.

43. The method of claim 40, further comprising installing the self-signed web site certificate into one of a folder on the domain web client and a trusted root certificate store on the domain web client.

44. The method of claim 43, the folder comprising a secured and shared folder.

45. The method of claim 43, the domain client employing a mechanism to copy the self-signed web site certificate from the folder to a trusted root certificate store.

46. The method of claim 40, further comprising generating the self-signed web site.

47. The method of claim 46, the self-signed web site certificate comprising at least one of a sever name, an external domain name, local server name and a local host name.

48. The method of claim 40, the self-signed web site certificate comprising at least one of a sever name, an external domain name, local server name and a local host name.

49. The method of claim 40, employed in connection with an API.

50. A method to automatically install signed web site certificate on a web server, comprising:

receiving a signed web site certificate associated with a web site;

automatically installing the signed web site certificate on a web server; and

automatically enabling SSL encryption on the web server.

51. The system of claim 50, further comprising configuring the web server to specifically require SSL encryption in connection with a portion of the web site.

52. The method of claim 50, employed in connection with an API.

53. A method to mitigate a malicious attempt to redirect a web client to a factious web site when employing a self-signed web site certificate, comprising:

generating a self-signed web site certificate;

automatically installing the self-signed web site certificate on a web server;

automatically enabling SSL encryption on the web server;

automatically installing and trusting the self-signed web site certificate on a domain web client; and

automatically enabling SSL encryption on the domain web client.

54. The method of claim 53, the self-signed certificate comprising at least one of an external domain name, local server name and a local host name.

55. A data packet transmitted between two or more computer components that facilitates installing and trusting self-signed web site certificates on a domain web client, comprising:

a component to create a self-signed web site certificate, a component to automatically install the self-signed web site certificate on a web server and a domain web client, a component to automatically employ an encryption mechanism in connection with the web sever and the domain web client, and a component to automatically trust the self-signed web site certificate on the domain web client.

56. A computer readable medium storing computer executable components to automatically install and trust self-signed certificates on a domain web client, comprising:

a component to automatically install the self-signed certificate on a web server;

a component to automatically enable an encryption mechanism on the web sever;

a component to automatically install the self-signed certificate on a domain web client;

a component to automatically enable an encryption mechanism on the domain web client; and

a component to automatically trust the self-signed certificate on the domain web client.

57. A system to automatically trust a self-signed web site certificate on a domain web client, comprising:

means for obtaining the self-signed web site certificate, and

means for installing the self-signed web site certificate to a trusted root certificate store on the domain web client.

58. An API employed to generate, install and trust a self-signed web site certificate, comprising:

constructing the self-signed web site certificate with at least a server name;

automatically installing the self-signed web site certificate on a web server;

automatically installing the self-signed web site certificate on a domain web client; and

automatically trusting the self-signed web site certificate on the domain web client.

59. The API of claim 58, further comprising pre-populating the self-signed certificate with at least one of a server name, an external domain name, a local server name and a local host name.

60. The API of claim 58, further comprising automatically enabling SSL encryption on the web server.

61. The API of claim 58, further comprising automatically enabling SSL encryption on the domain web client.

62. The API of claim 58, further comprising installing the self-signed web site certificate into one of a folder on the domain web client and a trusted root certificate store on the domain web client.

63. The API of claim 62, the folder comprising a secured and shared folder.

64. The API of claim 63, the domain web client employing a mechanism to copy the self-signed web site certificate from the folder to a trusted root certificate store.

65. A system to facilitate web site publishing, comprising:

a user interface component (U l) that obtains a self-signed web site certificate;

a certificate transforming component that modifies the self-signed web site certificate, and

a certificate loading component that installs the modified certificate on a web server and a domain web client.