How to Apply for a Free Wildcard and Multi-Domain SSL Certificate from TrustOcean

TrustOcean SSLfree wildcard SSL certificatemulti-domain SSL certificateCSR file generation3-month SSL validity

Published·Jan 24, 2019Modified·Jan 24, 2019

TrustOcean™ SSL is a new light brand under Xi'an Qiaoke Information Technology Co., Ltd., specializing in providing trusted, open, and partner-friendly PKI/CA SSL digital certificate services. The company is newly established and currently offers free wildcard and multi-domain certificates, though they are valid for only 3 months and require re-application upon expiration. This article shares the application process.

Register an Account

Registration URL: https://console.trustocean.com/
Ensure all information provided is real and valid to avoid usage issues.

Generate CSR File

The SSL certificates provided by TrustOcean are not as automated as those from Alibaba or Tencent; you must submit a CSR file yourself. You can use an online CSR generation tool to create one, as shown in the screenshot below.

After generation, please keep your CSR file and KEY file safe, as they will be needed later.

Apply for SSL Certificate

Log in to the TrustOcean backend, navigate to Manage Certificates, and select Free SSL Certificate to place an order (0 yuan).

TrustOcean's SSL certificates support up to 250 domains. However, the more domains you include, the more complicated the application becomes, as each domain requires DNS verification, and multiple domain names must be filled in when generating the CSR. It is generally recommended to limit the number to around 3.

In My Orders, select "Upload Generated CSR Code," fill in the content of the previously generated CSR file, and enter the domain names from the CSR application in the domain list, then proceed to the next step.

Follow the prompts to complete the DNS resolution at your domain registrar (DNS provider). After resolution is complete, do not forget to click "Save & Submit" at the bottom. If the resolution is correct, the certificate is usually issued within a few minutes.

Merge Certificate

After the certificate is issued, download it from the backend. Taking Nginx as an example, there will be only one file named START-xiaoz-me.pem, which is the certificate file (already with the certificate chain merged). You can rename it with a .crt suffix. The private key was generated when you first applied for the CSR; simply save the private key content with a .key suffix. This will constitute a complete SSL certificate.

Summary

Like Let's Encrypt, TrustOcean supports wildcard domains, multi-domain certificates, and ECC certificates. The advantage is that you do not need a VPS to complete the application. The downside is that the validity period is only 3 months.