How to import .cer certificate in Chrome on Linux

Chrome Jul 28, 2016

I have now started my journey as a second year student at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri. This is the first of the posts in the Solving Technical series. At this point of time, I’ve registered for the Wi-Fi provided here. At first they tell us to import a .cer file in the browser we use. But the problem lies within the fact that, Google Chrome on Linux does not have a functionality to import .cer files, unlike Firefox. Instead we can only import .crt files in Chrome Browser. So I’ll guide you in importing a .cer file in Chrome.

PREREQUISITES

  1. A .cer file
  2. Mozilla Firefox v40+ on Linux (or any browser based on it)
  3. Google Chrome v47+ on Linux (or any other browser based on it)

GETTING STARTED

First of all download the .cer file. In my case I downloaded the Fortinet certificate file from my campus. Then we have to import this .cer file in Firefox first. To do this:

  • Open Firefox from your shell Launcher or type firefox in terminal
  • Then click on the Hamburger menu on the top right corner of Firefox. Select the Preferences Option
  • Go to Advanced section
  • Select the Certificates sub-menu. Click on the “View Certificates” Button.
  • Certificate Manager window will pop up.
  • Go to Authorities sub-menu. Select Import; then navigate to the folder containing your .cer File and then import it.

  • After it gets imported, click on that Certificate file you imported and then click export. You must now see something with .crt extension in the Save As dialog box.

  • Give a name you like to the certificate (PS. Dont forget the .crt extension)
  • Then Open Google Chrome and click on the 3 dots in the upper right corner and go to Settings
  • Click On Show Advanced Settings
  • Scroll down to the HTTPS/SSL section and click on the Manage Certificates button.
  • Go to the Authorities tab. Select Import and then choose your .crt file

  • Depending on your needs, select the options from below. I had to choose only the first one, as per the instructions from my College Wi-Fi Registration Instructions.

Ta-da!!!! You have now imported a .cer file in Google Chrome.

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