# Securing the Web Console Made Easy **URL:** \ **Category:** Access Analyzer Show & Tell\ **Tags:** access-analyzer\ **Created:** [August 1, 2025, 6:59am UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/securing-the-web-console-made-easy/111204 "2025-08-01T06:59:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kurt.gerth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kurt.gerth](https://community.netwrix.com/u/kurt.gerth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2025, 6:59am UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/securing-the-web-console-made-easy/111204/1 "2025-08-01T06:59:32Z")
# Solution Download [SecurePublishedReports.zip](https://community.netwrix.com/uploads/short-url/tvNLczsRV6AMGK8WegZEsVawvwv.zip) (9.3 KB) # Update 2025-09-03 - Improved error message handling. # Summary The **Netwrix Access Analyzer (NAA) Published Reports** site is not initially configured to use HTTPS, requiring multiple manual steps to enable secure communication. # Problem Over the years working with **Netwrix Access Analyzer (NAA)**, one recurring challenge has been the configuration of the **Published Reports** web portal to utilize **SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)** for encrypted, secure communication. While SSL is a standard requirement for any web-based interface, even those that are only accessed over internal corporate networks, getting it implemented correctly within the NAA ecosystem is often **time-consuming, unintuitive, and prone to misconfiguration**. The process typically involves multiple steps: 1. Manual modification of the “WebServer.exe.Config” file to configure HTTPS and the desired port. 2. Manually binding the certificate thumbprint to the configured port, either through Windows Command Prompt or PowerShell. 3. Manually configuring the URL ACL (Access Control List) in Windows to define access permissions for HTTP and HTTPS URLs that are registered with the HTTP server APIs, again either through Windows Command Prompt or PowerShell. 4. Restarting the web server service for those changes to take effect. For reference, here’s a link to the documentation that provides the steps to enable SSL: **[Securing the Web Console](https://docs.netwrix.com/docs/accessanalyzer/12_0/install/application/reports/secure)** What’s more, SSL certificates have an expiration date, meaning that we’re going to have to go through removing and binding a new certificate when that time inevitably arrives. I spent several years working as a Support Engineer before becoming a Systems Engineer, and I can attest to the frequency of customers opening support tickets because their SSL certificate had expired, costing them time they could have likely focused elsewhere. # Solution The **[Secure Published Reports](https://community.netwrix.com/uploads/short-url/5wo3569hzad2SG9JTwPV525jRoz.zip)** job will automate the majority of this burden, allowing you to complete the initial configuration, or just apply a new certificate, in a much shorter time span and with a lot less effort. Just imagine the time saved not having to open a support ticket and schedule a meeting to apply a new or updated certificate! # Instructions 1. **Certificate** After acquiring the certificate from your Certificate Authority, the certificate should be stored in the Local Machine Store. 2. **Service Account** The service account will need to be granted “Logon as a service” rights in the Local Security Policy (secpol.msc). 3. **Connection Profile** Next, if we’re not using an existing Connection Profile, we’ll need to create a new **[Connection Profile](https://docs.netwrix.com/docs/accessanalyzer/12_0/admin/settings/connection/create/)** for the service account. After the Connection Profile is created, we’ll need to assign it to the job. To perform this, right-click on the **SecurePublishedReports** job, then click “Properties”. From here, you’ll want to go to the “Connection” tab, tick the radio button for “Select one of the following user-defined profiles:”, and finally select the desired Connection Profile from the drop-down menu, then click OK to save the setting. 4. Now that we have our certificate thumbprint and our service account and connection profile configured, we can get to the fun part. You’ll find two configuration parameters for this job, a “Certificate thumbprint to bind” and a “Port to bind certificate”. That’s it! When your certificate nears expiration, you’ll be able to simply install the new certificate, get the thumbprint, and run this job to update it. ---
**Author:** ![justin-eevabits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@justin-eevabits](https://community.netwrix.com/u/justin-eevabits)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 4:06am UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/securing-the-web-console-made-easy/111204/2 "2025-08-09T04:06:27Z")
Nice work @kurt.gerth that’s super handy to implement! We’ve historically handled this with PowerShell script to find the thumbprint, update XML, then restart service(s). Does this also handle Access Information Center certificate? Typically, we use the same certificate but sometimes it’s different depending on the environment. ---
**Author:** ![kurt.gerth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kurt.gerth](https://community.netwrix.com/u/kurt.gerth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/securing-the-web-console-made-easy/111204/3 "2025-08-21T16:50:24Z")
Glad to hear you’ll get some use out of this Justin. It doesn’t currently handle the AIC, however I am working on a separate job to perform that which I’m hoping to get released in the next couple of weeks, time permitting. ---
**Author:** ![kurt.gerth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kurt.gerth](https://community.netwrix.com/u/kurt.gerth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/securing-the-web-console-made-easy/111204/4 "2025-09-09T21:45:41Z")
AIC job created. > [@Securing the Access Information Center Made Easy](https://community.netwrix.com/t/securing-the-access-information-center-made-easy/113801): > > Solution Download [SecureAccessInformationCenter.zip](https://community.netwrix.com/uploads/short-url/58ua9iLXmHToe3g9UYtRiMXksvH.zip) (8.3 KB) Summary This is a companion post to [Securing the Web Console Made Easy](https://community.netwrix.com/t/securing-the-web-console-made-easy/111204). The Netwrix Access Information Center (AIC) web interface is not initially configured to use HTTPS, or a new certificate needs to be applied, requiring several manual steps to enable secure communication. Problem Even when the AIC is only accessed within an internal corporate network, enabling HTTPS is a standard security requirement. As with [Securing the Web C…](https://helpcenter.netwrix.com/bundle/AccessAnalyzer_12.0/page/Content/EnterpriseAuditor/Install/Application/Reports/Secure.htm)