Learn more about the Certbot Apache Authenticator tool. Our Apache Server Support team is here to help you with your questions and concerns.

Certbot Apache Authenticator | An Intro

Did you know the Certbot Apache authenticator is a tool to obtain and renew SSL/TLS certificates for Apache web servers?

Certbot is a popular open-source software. It helps secure websites with SSL/TLS certificates.

Let’s take a look at how the authenticator works:

• To begin with, when we request an SSL/TLS certificate for our website, the CA needs to verify that we have control over the domain.
• Then, the authenticator automatically configures our Apache web server to serve a certain challenge file or respond to a challenge request from the CA. This proves that we have control over the domain. This is part of the ACME protocol used by Let’s Encrypt.
• Furthermore, the authenticator makes temporary changes to our Apache server configuration during the certificate issuance or renewal process. However, they are usually reversed once the certificate is obtained or renewed.
• Once the process is complete, the CA issues our domain’s SSL/TLS certificate. Certbot then installs this certificate on our Apache server.
• Additionally, Certbot can automatically renew our certificates. The authenticator automatically re-authenticates and renews our certificates when they are about to expire.

Let’s take a look at how to use the Certbot Apache authenticator to get an SSL/TLS certificate for a website hosted on an Apache server:

1. Install Certbot and the Certbot Apache plugin on our server.
2. Then, run the Certbot command as seen here:

   sudo certbot --apache -d example.com

Now, Certbot will take us through the authentication process.

With the Certbot Apache authenticator, we can easily secure your Apache-hosted websites with SSL/TLS certificates, helping to protect data exchanged between your users and your web server.

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Conclusion

In brief, our Support Experts demonstrated how to use Certbot Apache Authenticator to secure our Apache-hosted websites with SSL/TLS certificates.