Purchasing and renewing SSL certificates¶

Purchasing¶

SSL certificates are available to purchase via MyUKFast.

Select the SSL certificate you want and click Buy Now. You’ll be asked to provide some information regarding the organisation responsible for the domain in question. At the end of the purchase process you will be asked to select which validation method you wish to use, in order to prove your legitimate ownership of the domain in question. The three possible validation options are set out below:

• File Upload - This is typically the fastest form of validation, but requires you to have access to the webserver currently hosting the domain’s site. You will need to upload a .txt file to your website, which must be publicly accessible via the Protocol specified, either HTTP or HTTPS. If you already have an SSL-secured site that is available via HTTPS, you should typically choose this option when purchasing the certificate, otherwise leave this on HTTP.

  The file will need to be accessible at http(s)://example.com/.well-known/pki-validation/<MD5 Hash>.txt - specific instructions are provided in MyUKFast at the point of purchase.

  This file will need to be present throughout validation, but can be safely removed once the certificate has been issued.

• DNS Lookup - You will need to create a new CNAME DNS record for your domain. This will be in the format:

  _<MD5 Hash>.example.com CNAME <SHA-256 hash (part 1)>.<SHA-256 hash (part 2)>.<uniqueValue>.comodoca.com

  Full details are provided at point of purchase and, as before, this record can be safely deleted once validation is complete.

• Email - An email will be sent to an administrative contact registered for the domain (e.g. admin@example.com). You’ll see a list of possible email addresses to choose from in MyUKFast.

  The email will contain a unique validation code and link that are only valid for 30 days. The email can be resent in the event that validation is not completed within this time frame.

Once validation is complete, a UKFast support engineer will be in touch if you’ve selected the option for UKFast to install the certificate for you. If you’ve chosen to install the SSL certificate yourself, you’ll find a link to the certificate in MyUKFast

Renewing¶

We will send you a number of email alerts in the run up to your SSL certificate expiring. Simply click the link in one of these emails and follow the process to renew your certificate within MyUKFast. Alternatively you can login to MyUKFast and go to Products and Services then SSL Certificates to check when your certificates are due to expire, and manage their renewal.