SSL/TLS essentials: theory and implementation (Udemy.com)
Master SSL/TLS hard parts, implement web security like a pro, and become your team's expert in HTTPS!
Created by: Ahmed Elfakharany
Last updated October 2022
What you will learn
- Master SSL/TLS in HTTPS, web certificates, PKI, and mTLS on all types of web applications
- Guide your team members through the correct SSL/TLS implementation
- Build your own certificate authority (CA) and issue SSL certificates instead of asking someone to do it for you
- Work confidently with Let's Encrypt and deploy production-grade, public HTTPS certificates to your applications
- Authenticate your client with certificates using mutual TLS (mTLS)
- Stand out of the crowd by not only implementing SSL/TLS like a pro, but also understand how it works
How it compares
Against the other 815 rated Udemy courses in Web Development on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.7 out of 5higher than 86% of them
- Reviews334#353 of 816 by number of reviews
- Length1.8 hoursshorter than 89% of them
- Last updatedOctober 2022earlier than 73% of them
Course Description
SSL/TLS is often implemented without being fully understood!
If you've worked in an IT environment of any size and for any period, you've used SSL/TLS at least once. Think of that self-signed certificate you’ve created for the company's internal portal or when the information security department required you to switch to HTTPS for all web communications.
90% of the time, you follow the steps to implement SSL/TLS, but you don't really get the why and the how. Remember when the information security professional required you to use TLS 1.2 and not 1.1? what’s the difference? Are we using SSL or TLS or both? Why does the browser sometimes show a warning message when you switch to HTTPS although you followed every step in the guide? What is mTLS?
Do you have time to read books and articles about all that jargon? Probably not.
This class is here to help you!
SSL/TLS theory and implementation was designed for those of us who need to get up to speed with SSL/TLS as soon as possible. But they don’t have time to go through all the books, articles, guides, and manuals.
The class was created with junior developers, operators, and QA engineers in mind. It is a beginner’s course. So, if you are a seasoned security professional with many years of IT security experience and you’re looking to take your knowledge to the next level, this course is not for you.
SSL/TLS is the kind of knowledge that will make you stand out of the crowd!
IT professionals with more than one skill set are more likely to get hired/promoted. That’s a fact. Your time is precious, and you need to widen your skillset as fast as possible. That’s another fact.
How to maximize your benefit from this class?
Some people like to read the theory first, grasp the concept, and build a mental model. Further on, they start implementing what they’ve learned.
Some other people prefer to get their hands dirty as soon as they can. If they are stuck with something, they refer to the theory and explanation.
If you’re of the first kind, you can go through the course from start to finish. Sections one and two draw the big picture and lay the ground for what’s next. The rest of the class includes many hands-on exercises for the most common use cases of SSL/TLS.
Those of you who are less patient can start directly at section three, which is the first section in the “implementation” part of the class.
What is covered?
· What is SSL/TLS and the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)?
· What is an X.509 certificate and how does it fit in the equation?
· How and when to use wildcard certificates?
· What is a CA, an intermediary CA, and a leaf/node certificate?
· How to create a self-signed certificate in just one command?
· How to deploy certificates on Nginx, Apache web server, and Apache Tomcat application server?
· How to create your very own certificate authority (CA)?
· How to create an intermediary CA for enhanced security?
· How to use free services like Let’s Encrypt to install certificates to your websites?
· What and how to use mutual TLS (mTLS) for client authentication?
· How to use SSL/TLS with Kubernetes Ingress Nginx controller?
· How to use free certificates from Amazon using AWS certificate manager?
In addition to several quizzes to test your knowledge.
A note about Extra Lectures
This class includes more than one lecture which is labeled “extra lectures”. The purpose of them is to provide even more value for the student. However, they may require some additional background that not everyone has. So, they are not strictly required to understand the core concept of the class, but they provide some extra value. For example, using SSL/TLS certificates with Kubernetes Ingress controller requires an understanding of Kubernetes clusters and how they work.
Again, SSL/TLS is more implemented than understood.
Enrich your knowledge, become an expert in multiple domains, and jumpstart your professional IT career.
The course offers a 30-days money-back guarantee, no questions asked.
Go ahead and enroll now!
Instructor Details
- 4.7 Rating
334 Reviews
Ahmed Elfakharany
Ahmed is a Lead DevOps engineer who has helped many companies transition to the cloud. He worked with small startups as well as large enterprises. Kubernetes and microservices are his specialties. AWS is his cloud provider, although he also uses Azure and Google when necessary. Ahmed has taught thousands of students the basics of Docker and DevOps tools (Ansible, Vagrant, Terraform, Packer, CI/CD, and many others).
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Reviews
By Shubhojit Dasgupta on 6/5/2026
It is a good course If you want to learn certificate chain validation in an hands-on manner. Basics are well explained about SSL/TLS mechanics.
By Herman DeSouza on 10/15/2025
Great course!....The instructor was very knowledgeable on the topic and delivered it in a concise and understandable way. My only problem is that you needed to have a good Linux background to easily follow along.
By Alexsandro Santana on 5/2/2024
This course expanded my knowlege , for sure. I really liked the illustrations and the practical lessons. It gave me a wide understanding on what i knew about SSL/TLS. Thank you so much!
By Victor Yan on 4/20/2024
It is a good lecture to explain AES and RSA differences. The SSL/TLS history is also good context on determining implementation. The only thing is the speech to text needs some work to be more accurate.
By Martin George on 1/12/2024
I feel the speaker was very well informed and very concise. However, when there are a lot of details, I think it is easier to remember the info if the processes are initially spelled out in a list. That way, you are not just adding detail upon detail. Most of this course was showing us how something was done. But I think you need to have a flow that is more like this: To do this activity, use these 6 steps. Now, lets walk thru that...
By Marek Ceizel on 2/24/2023
I'm sure the mentor has a great knowledge of the themes. I would like to understand all of that as he does. however this course doesn't bring me to that level (even when it helps a lot).
By Valentina Hines on 1/3/2023
Great course, it got more complicated when it switched to Linux part, but you do need to know these things. The course provides a lot of useful information.
By Sarin Suriyakoon on 12/3/2022
This course exceeds my expectation. The instructor explains in detail how PKI works and how SSL/TLS works. And with an implementation that much of the resource won't cover such as the Certificate Authority, Implementation with NGINX, and even ingress. This one is high-quality course.
By Ali Alizadeh on 11/11/2021
This is a great, although a bit fast-paced intro to fundamentals of SSL/TLS as well as a primer on practical real-world usage. Short and to the point. Thank you Ahmed!
By Ahmed Elshimy on 11/11/2021
El curso es valioso y útil para el principiante en el tema, el profesor es experto en el tema y explica sin problemas.
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 94 / 100







