Can I use my own certificate for the Network Services instead of the default self-signed certificate?

Article ID: 501
Category: Network Services
Updated: 2023-09-21

Yes, a self-signed certificate can be substituted for the certificate that is automatically generated by the Network Services when you enable Syslog TLS. You will need to provide a password-protected PKCS#12 archive file with a .PFX extension.

  1. Download the Microsoft PSEXEC utility and copy the utility to the machine where the "EventSentry Network Services" service is running.
  2. Stop the EventSentry Network Services service.
  3. Rename your PFX file so that it's named eventsentry_network_svc.pfx and copy this renamed PFX file into the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\eventsentry\secure folder, replacing the existing eventsentry_network_svc.pfx file in the folder.
  4. In an Administrator command prompt, run the following command: psexec /s /i /d regedit.exe
  5. If the command was succesful, regedit (registry editor) should appear. In regedit, select the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\netikus.net\eventsentry\Syslog key
  6. On the right side of regedit, double-click the ssl_certificate_password item and in the editing popup, replace the current text in the Value Data field with the password of your PFX file.
  7. Close regedit, and start the EventSentry Network Services service.
  8. Review the application event log to spot any potential EventSentry Network Services eventlog entries indicating a certificate error. If you find any errors and need to revert, you can delete the .pfx file from your secure folder and the ssl_certificate_password value in the registry and when you restart the Network services it will regenerate a self-signed certificate.