SSL Security Settings

To access the SSL security settings

  1. On the main menu, click Tools > Global Options (or press ALT+F7).

  2. Expand the Security node, then click SSL Security. The SSL Security options appear.

  3. Configure options as described below:

    • Select the Use SSL certificate when authenticating to send a certificate to SSL servers for authentication. Clear this check box to send no certificate to SSL servers for authentication.

      • Your server may not require client certificates. If they do require client certificates, you may need to send your self-signed or 3rd-party signed certificate to the server administrator to be added to the server's Trusted List.

    • In the Certificate box, browse to or type the location of an SSL certificate file on your local computer. The file should have a .crt extension.

    • In the Private key box, browse to or type the location of an SSL private key file on your local computer. The key file should have a .key extension.

    • In the Use passphrase box, provide the passphrase used for the certificate listed in the Certificate field.

    • In the Confirm Passphrase, provide the passphrase again for the certificate listed.

      • The private key password is stored in the registry using strong encryption. For added security, leave the passphrase boxes blank so that CuteFTP will prompt you for the private key password when necessary.

    • Click Create Certificate to create a new SSL certificate with a signing request and a key for the certificate. For more information on creating SSL certificates, see Creating your own SSL certificates.

    • Click Trusted Certificates to display a list of certificates that you have accepted as valid. For more information on trusted certificates, see Accepting server SSL certificates and Importing SSL certificates.

    • Select the Reuse cached session for data connection (required by some servers) check box to allow new transfers without encrypting a new data channel. Clear this check box to require encryption of every session for every new transfer.

    • Select the Accept certificates in Windows Trusted Root Certificate Authority store check box to automatically trust certificates already accepted by your system, even if they have not been added to your Trusted list. Clear this check box to require all certificates to be added to the CuteFTP Trusted list before allowing connections.

    • Select the Warn when switching from secure to non-secure pages check box to see a pop-up message when, after connecting to a secure HTTP site, you click a folder or link that is not secure. Clear this check box to be able to link from secure HTTP sites to HTTP sites that are not secure without seeing any pop-up messages.

  4. Click Apply if you are going to make changes to other pages; click OK to save changes and close the Global Options dialog box.