Removing a Password from an LotW Callsign Certificate
de Joe W4TV
If your certificate is password-protected, then each time you upload QSOs to LotW you will be prompted to supply the password. This password makes it more difficult for someone who gains access to your computer or to your .p12 file to forge QSOs with you. For those operating from rare locations, this protection against forgery may be appropriate; where there's no threat of forgery, you can remove the password from your certificate so that you are not prompted each time you upload:
start the TQSL application
- select TQSL's Callsign Certificates tab
click on the certificate whose password you wish to remove, and then click the Save the callsign certificate for button to the right
In the Enter the name for the new Certificate Container file window, specify the name and location of a new file into which the certificate will be saved, and then click the Save button in the lower-right corner (this file will be used in step 8.b below)
a Certificate Container Password window will prompt you to enter a password, leave both the New password and Enter again to confirm textboxes empty, and click the Ok button
an Enter password window will prompt you to enter a password to unlock the private key, type the password used to protect the certificate
click the Load a Callsign Certificate button
in the Select Certificate File window that appears,
set the selector in the lower-right corner to Callsign Certificate container files (.p12)
select the file you created in step 4 above and click the Open button
in the New Password window that appears, leave both the New password and Enter again to confirm textboxes empty and click the Ok button
in the Load Certificate File window, click the Finish button