Granted Patent B1

US 9,258,128 · App. 14/016,017 · Granted Feb 9, 2016

Abstract

Claims (81)

1. A computer-implemented method for creating customer-specific tools for generating certificate signing requests, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising:

identifying a request from a customer for a tool for generating a certificate signing request for a digital certificate;

creating, in response to the request, a customer-specific version of the tool that is unique to the customer by injecting information that is necessary to generate the certificate signing request into an executable file of the customer-specific version of the tool, wherein the information:

uniquely identifies the customer; and

identifies at least one of a desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate and a desired certificate authority for the digital certificate;

configuring the customer-specific version of the tool to generate the certificate signing request using the injected information; and

providing, to the customer, the customer-specific version of the tool that already contains the injected information necessary to generate the certificate signing request to enable the customer to generate, using the customer-specific version of the tool, the certificate signing request without having to manually provide the injected information.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the request from the customer for the tool comprises at least one of:

receiving a request from the customer to purchase the digital certificate; and

receiving a request from the customer to download the tool.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the customer-specific version of the tool is configured to automatically open and extract the injected information upon execution.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to creating the customer-specific version of the tool, identifying the information that uniquely identifies the customer by at least one of:

retrieving at least a portion of the information that uniquely identifies the customer from a customer database; and

requesting and receiving, from the customer, the information that uniquely identifies the customer in response to receiving at least one of:

a request from the customer to purchase the digital certificate; and

a request from the customer to download the tool.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to creating the customer-specific version of the tool, identifying the desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate by at least one of:

ascertaining the desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate from the customer's purchase history; and

requesting and receiving, from the customer, an identification of the desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate in response to receiving at least one of:

a request from the customer to purchase the digital certificate; and

a request from the customer to download the tool.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to creating the customer-specific version of the tool, identifying the desired certificate authority for the digital certificate by at least one of:

ascertaining the desired certificate authority from a web portal chosen by the customer when submitting the request for the tool; and

ascertaining the desired certificate authority from a version of the tool requested by the customer.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, upon creation of the digital certificate:

identifying an additional request from the customer for an additional tool for installing the digital certificate;

creating, in response to the additional request, a customer-specific version of the additional tool that is unique to the customer and that includes the digital certificate;

configuring the customer-specific version of the additional tool to install the digital certificate using the included digital certificate; and

providing the customer-specific version of the additional tool to the customer to enable the customer to install, using the customer-specific version of the additional tool, the digital certificate without having to manually locate the digital certificate.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the tool for generating the certificate signing request and the additional tool for installing the digital certificate comprise the same tool.

9. A system for creating customer-specific tools for generating certificate signing requests, the system comprising:

an identification module that identifies a request from a customer for a tool for generating a certificate signing request for a digital certificate;

a tool creation module that creates, in response to the request, a customer-specific version of the tool that is unique to the customer by injecting information that is necessary to generate the certificate signing request into an executable file of the customer-specific version of the tool, wherein the information:

uniquely identifies the customer; and

identifies at least one of a desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate and a desired certificate authority for the digital certificate;

a tool configuration module that configures the customer-specific version of the tool to generate the certificate signing request using the injected information; and

a communication module that provides, to the customer, the customer-specific version of the tool that already contains the injected information necessary to generate the certificate signing request to enable the customer to generate, using the customer-specific version of the tool, the certificate signing request without having to manually provide the injected information; and

at least one processor configured to execute the identification module, the tool creation module, the tool configuration module, and the communication module.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the identification module identifies the request from the customer for the tool by at least one of:

receiving a request from the customer to purchase the digital certificate; and

receiving a request from the customer to download the tool.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the tool configuration module configures the customer-specific version of the tool to automatically open and extract the injected information upon execution.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein, prior to creation of the customer-specific version of the tool, the identification module identifies the information that uniquely identifies the customer by at least one of:

retrieving at least a portion of the information that uniquely identifies the customer from a customer database; and

requesting and receiving, from the customer, the information that uniquely identifies the customer in response to receiving at least one of:

a request from the customer to purchase the digital certificate; and

a request from the customer to download the tool.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein, prior to creation of the customer-specific version of the tool, the identification module identifies the desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate by at least one of:

ascertaining the desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate from the customer's purchase history; and

requesting and receiving, from the customer, an identification of the desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate in response to receiving at least one of:

a request from the customer to purchase the digital certificate; and

a request from the customer to download the tool.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein, prior to creation of the customer-specific version of the tool, the identification module identifies the desired certificate authority for the digital certificate by at least one of:

ascertaining the desired certificate authority from a web portal chosen by the customer when submitting the request for the tool; and

ascertaining the desired certificate authority from a version of the tool requested by the customer.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein, upon creation of the digital certificate:

the identification module identifies an additional request from the customer for an additional tool for installing the digital certificate;

the tool creation module creates, in response to the additional request, a customer-specific version of the additional tool that is unique to the customer and that includes the digital certificate;

the tool configuration module configures the customer-specific version of the additional tool to install the digital certificate using the included digital certificate; and

the communication module provides the customer-specific version of the additional tool to the customer to enable the customer to install, using the customer-specific version of the additional tool, the digital certificate without having to manually locate the digital certificate.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the tool for generating the certificate signing request and the additional tool for installing the digital certificate comprise the same tool.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium comprising one or more computer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to:

identify a request from a customer for a tool for generating a certificate signing request for a digital certificate;

create, in response to the request, a customer-specific version of the tool that is unique to the customer by injecting information that is necessary to generate the certificate signing request into an executable file of the customer-specific version of the tool, wherein the information:

uniquely identifies the customer; and

identifies at least one of a desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate and a desired certificate authority for the digital certificate;

configure the customer-specific version of the tool to generate the certificate signing request using the injected information; and

provide, to the customer, the customer-specific version of the tool that already contains the injected information necessary to generate the certificate signing request to enable the customer to generate, using the customer-specific version of the tool, the certificate signing request without having to manually provide the injected information.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the one or more computer-readable instructions further cause the computing device to identify, prior to creating the customer-specific version of the tool, the information that uniquely identifies the customer by at least one of:

retrieving at least a portion of the information that uniquely identifies the customer from a customer database; and

requesting and receiving, from the customer, the information that uniquely identifies the customer in response to receiving at least one of:

a request from the customer to purchase the digital certificate; and

a request from the customer to download the tool.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the one or more computer-readable instructions further cause the computing device to identify, prior to creating the customer-specific version of the tool, the desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate by at least one of:

ascertaining the desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate from the customer's purchase history; and

requesting and receiving, from the customer, an identification of the desired encryption algorithm for the digital certificate in response to receiving at least one of:

a request from the customer to purchase the digital certificate; and

a request from the customer to download the tool.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable-storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the one or more computer-readable instructions further cause the computing device to identify, prior to creating the customer-specific version of the tool, the desired certificate authority for the digital certificate by at least one of:

ascertaining the desired certificate authority from a web portal chosen by the customer when submitting the request for the tool; and

ascertaining the desired certificate authority from a version of the tool requested by the customer.

Assignments (11)