Installing Apache
If you do not have Apache installed, we need to install it. Enter the commands:
sudo apt update sudo apt install apache2 openssl
Enabling Mod_SSL and Mod_Rewrite Modules.
The next step is to enable the mod_ssl and mod_rewrite modules. To do this, we use the a2enmod script, which allows us to enable and disable modules in the apache configuration.
Use the commands as shown below:
sudo a2enmod ssl sudo a2enmod rewrite
Enable .htaccess Override
The next step is to edit the Apache configuration and add an entry to allow the Apache default settings to override. Overriding settings are done in the .htaccess file located in the Apache root directory.
sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf
Navigate to the end of the file and add the following entry:
<Directory /var/www/html>
AllowOverride ALL
</Directory>
Save and close the file.
Generating SSL Certificate
There are various ways to get a free SSL certificate. Tools such as certbot and SSL generators are great options.
However, in this guide, we will create a self-signed certificate using the OpenSSL utility.
Create a directory in the Apache configuration directory as:
sudo mkdir /etc/apache2/certs
Navigate into the directory created above.
cd /etc/apache2/certs
Run the OpenSSL utility to generate your self-signed certificate as provided in the command below:
sudo openssl req -new -newkey rsa:4096 -x509 -sha256 -days 365 -nodes -out apache.crt -keyout apache.key
Once the process is completed successfully, you should have the apache.crt and apache.key in the certs directory.
Adding Cert to Apache Configuration
Add the certificate by editing the configuration file of the Apache default website.
sudo vim /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf
Add a virtual host block on port 443 as shown:
<VirtualHost *:443>
ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
DocumentRoot /var/www/html
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
SSLEngine on
SSLCertificateFile /etc/apache2/certs/apache.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/apache2/certs/apache.key
</VirtualHost>
Redirecting to HTTPS.
In most cases, you will want to redirect users from no SSL endpoint to SSL. You do this by adding a Rewrite rule on the port 80 virtual hosts.
Add the entry as:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
RewriteRule ^/?(.*) https://%{SERVER_NAME}/$1 [R=301,L]
NOTE: Ensure the Blocks above are under the port 80 virtual host.
Restart and Access Apache
Once everything above is configured, restart the Apache service and access your website via localhost.
You can view the certificate information by clicking on the lock icon in your browser.
