I need help getting a cert

I use HostMySite, and they don't support Let'sEncrypt. In reading the "Getting Started" section, and others, I've discovered a requirement that is a serious impediment to getting a certificate, best stated as "What in the world are they talking about?".
Okay, I think I have access on the shared server for my account, but I don't know anything of those command line parts. And my understanding is that I have to do all those magical incantations on a shared server before I can get a certificate. Well, that seems to not be an option for me.

BUT, the provider's control panel allows me to create, upload, and install a certificate and private key for me. These are certificate.pem and private_key.pem. A self-issued certificate, created by a click on the control panel, and then installed with another click.

So my belief is IF I can get the certificate from Let'sEncrypt, then I can upload it and install it via the control panel. But we're back now to my belief that I can't get a certificate from Let'sEncrypt without CERTBOT or other wizardry. And I don't think my computer running Windows 10 can do the manual CERTBOT thing, and even if it could, it might spell the end of the world.

What I know, or think I know:
My computer is running Windows 10 (I wish I knew how to do Linux effectively).
My provider is HostMySite.com (Hosting.com?)
They said RedHat, and I see Apache listed, as my services.
Control panel is labeled "HostMySite" but I see "Odin Panel" in very small ghosted type.

So, I would like this to be a learning experience for me, as well as a success.

Any suggestions? I might trade CP/M's source code on an 8-inch floppy (if I can find it, but don't count on it.) for helping me figure this out.

Thank you.

C.

An

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Hi @SailRN and welcome to the LE community forum :slight_smile:

The problems presented do not appear to be particularly driven by LE nor certbot.
The simplest solution is to switch to an HSP that supports LE (or any other free CA).
[HSP = Hosting Service Provider]

If that is not possible, then you will surely be faced with the never-ending problem of having to manually obtain a cert and then manually adding it to your site [every 60-90 days].
That alone would put me off and have me looking for automation in whatever means possible.

If you have no other recourse, start here:
Getting Started - Let's Encrypt (letsencrypt.org)
And feel free to post any questions you might have or problems you might encounter along the way.

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@SailRN it is possible to run software on your own computer (including under Windows 10) to request the certificate, but you would usually have to do a manual validation step; as @rg305 noted above, "you will surely be faced with the never-ending problem of having to manually obtain a cert and then manually adding it to your site [every 60-90 days]".

Let's Encrypt believes so strongly in automation that it has eventually discouraged approaches that have a manual step, including with "web clients" that try to replicate the experience of a traditional paid CA with a web site where you request your certificate. Like Rudy said, there are many providers that will take care of this for you, particularly in hosting plans where you aren't the system administrator. Working around this is technically possible but logistically annoying and fragile.

A recent interesting exception to the "be the system administrator or have your hosting provider handle it for you" is

which is an automated tool that works for many people on shared hosting plans. It requires PHP and is optimized for cPanel (for cases where the hosting provider doesn't give customers access to the existing cPanel features that automate certification). You could also try that if you know that your existing hosting plan allows installing PHP scripts, although since your control panel isn't cPanel, the results may still not be 100% automated even if it works in your environment.

There is a whole thread here on the forum to help people find a web host where Let's Encrypt support is built-in to the hosting plans:

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