Managing your certificates efficiently is a task you shouldn’t take lightly. From following the best installation practices to renewing them on time, you should regularly check your SSL installation for potential errors.
Sometimes, you need to remove a certificate because it’s been compromised or stolen. But in most cases, you have to get rid of it before it expires to avoid encryption outages and keep sensitive data safe. Either way, no matter what server you use, there isn’t a single “delete” button to uninstall your certs.
That’s why in this article, we’ll show how to remove certificates from Windows 10.
Before we begin, we encourage you to backup your certificates, as any modifications to root and intermediate certs may lead to unexpected errors.
Steps to Delete Certificates on Windows 10
Follow the steps below to remove a certificate from Windows 10:
Launch the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) by clicking the Windows icon on the taskbar and searching for “MMC”.
In the MMC, click theFilebutton in the top-left corner and selectAdd/Remove Snap-in.
ClickCertificatesin the left column, and then clickAddto move it to the right column. ClickOKto continue.
From theCertificates Snap-inwindow, selectComputer accountto view certificates for all users on this machine and then clickNext.
On the next window, selectLocal computer (the computer this console is running on).
ClickFinish, and thenOKto close the snap-in manager screen. You should then see a list of certificates on your local machine in the left-hand column of MMC.
Now, you need to find the cert that you want to remove. Use the folder list on the left side to locate the certificate. Click theThird-Party Root Certification Authoritiesfolder, then selectCertificates.
Find the certificate you want to remove and right-click on it. SelectProperties. Then, in theGeneraltab, in the section calledCertificate purposes, select theDisable all purposes for this certificateradio button and then clickApply.
Restart your server. And that should be it.
Every time you need to remove an SSL certificate from your server ensure you know exactly what files to disable. Deleting a wrong root or intermediate cert may cause SSL connection errors.
The method we’ve provided is efficient when you’re dealing with a small number of certs. But if your company is deploying dozens of certificates for various needs, it’s better to automate the process and use SSL management tools.
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Locate and right-click on the certificate you wish to remove. Click on Properties and then in the General tab, click on Disable all purposes for this certificate in the Certificate purposes section. Hit Apply and restart your server to complete the removal process.
Press Windows Key + R Key together, type certmgr. msc, and hit enter. You will get a new window with the list of Certificates installed on your computer. Locate the certificate you want to delete and then click on the Action button then, click on Delete.
After deleting an SSL certificate, all services that are linked to the certificate no longer use its information. The certificate no longer appears on the SSL certificates screen within the IBM Cloud console.
You should see the C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe dialog box appear (windows box with the black background) like below. In the C:\users\(your username here)>prompt, type in the following: certutil –urlcache * delete and then press the Enter key.
Right-click the selected certificates, select All Tasks, and then select Revoke Certificate. In the Certificate Revocation dialog box, select Cease of Operation as the reason for revocation, and then select OK.
Windows stores certificates locally on the computer in a storage location called the certificate store. A certificate store often has numerous certificates, possibly issued from a number of different certification authorities (CAs). For info on viewing certificates, see How to: View certificates with the MMC snap-in.
If you are not able to delete certificate and receiving the following error message: "Unable to delete the certificate because it is currently being used in a TLS/SSL binding. The TLS binding must be removed before you can delete the certificate." This problem might occur if another app uses the certificate.
Important: Removing certificates you've installed doesn't remove the permanent system certificates that your device needs to work. But if you remove a certificate that a certain Wi-Fi connection requires, your device may not connect to that Wi-Fi network anymore.
Go to SSL/TLS > Edge Certificates.For Disable Universal SSL, select Disable Universal SSL. Read the warnings in the Acknowledgement. Select I Understand and select Confirm.
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