> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.safesquid.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Self-Service Portal
> SafeSquid Self-Service Portal — cloud-managed activation, licensing, backup, categorization, certificate, and related operational workflows for SafeSquid deployments.
# Self-Service Portal
The Self-Service Portal is a SafeSquid-managed cloud service at `https://key.safesquid.com`. It is part of the product operating model, not just a convenience website. It handles activation-key distribution and other cloud-managed workflows that influence licensing, categorization, backup, and certificate-related operations.
**Access:** [https://key.safesquid.com](https://key.safesquid.com)
## Problem statement
If licensing, categorization, backup, or certificate workflows are scattered across email threads and manual files, deployments become fragile and support-dependent. Teams need a controlled place to retrieve activation material, manage cloud-linked settings, and align multiple installations to the same organizational context.
## Client scenario
Use the portal when you need to:
* register and obtain activation keys
* manage licensing and subscription state
* support SSL certificate workflows
* manage custom categorization or cloud-linked policy data
* understand cloud dependencies in restricted or sovereignty-sensitive deployments
## Key benefits
* Reduces dependence on manual support for routine licensing tasks
* Centralizes cloud-linked deployment metadata by activation key
* Supports repeatable rollout across multiple SafeSquid instances
* Makes cloud dependency explicit so teams can design around it where needed
## Portal layout
Confirmed live (2026-09-02, logged-in session, all six tabs inspected): **Manage Key**
(default landing tab — key details, instance list, Download Key), **Manage Categories** (Check
Website Category / Modify Category, single-URL search), **Manage Certificates** (Generate then
Download an SSL certificate for the key), **Manage VPN** (C-code/activation key against a URL
field, Set URL), **Manage Signatures** ("Available Signatures for \[C-code]", Add New, a
Keywords/Signature table), **Manage Account** (subscription details, Conserve Subscription). A
standing **Download Key** action and **Download latest ISO** / **Download latest tarball** links
(`downloads.safesquid.com/appliance/safesquid.iso` and `.../binary/safesquid_latest.tar.gz`)
appear on every tab.
## What the portal is used for
Internal product knowledge confirms the portal is used for:
1. **Activation key distribution**\
Obtain and re-download the activation key used to bind a deployment to SafeSquid licensing workflows.
2. **License management**\
Track subscription and activation status for SafeSquid instances.
3. **Custom categorization and related cloud-managed settings**\
Support organization-specific categorization workflows tied to the activation context.
4. **Certificate-related workflows**\
Support SSL inspection deployment workflows that depend on trusted certificate handling.
5. **Configuration and policy synchronization functions**\
The knowledge base identifies the Self-Service Portal as part of the cloud path for licensing, activation-key distribution, threat-intelligence delivery, and policy or configuration synchronization across deployments.
6. **Backup and restore support**\
The broader architecture model places configuration backup and restore as a peer operational service in the SafeSquid ecosystem.
***
## Prerequisites
**Before you start**
* SafeSquid account (see [Register and get your key](/getting_started/register) if you haven't registered yet)
* Use your business/corporate email for enterprise benefits
* Have your SafeSquid installation details ready (for license activation)
***
## Access the portal
**Direct link:** [https://key.safesquid.com](https://key.safesquid.com)
**From SafeSquid.com:**
1. Visit [https://www.safesquid.com](https://www.safesquid.com)
2. Click **Self-Service Portal** in the top menu
3. Login with your registered email and password
**First-time users:** if you haven't created an account yet, see [Register and get your key](/getting_started/register) for registration steps.
***
## Common tasks
### Download Activation Key
1. **Log in** to the portal — lands on the **Manage Key** tab by default.
2. **Click Download Key**.
3. Save the `activation_key` file (do not rename it).
The Manage Key tab also lists your key's C-Code, current usage counters, Support Validity date,
and instance details (Service ID, version, last update) — plus **Download latest ISO** and
**Download latest tarball** links for the install media itself.
**Use this key for:** [License activation](/getting_started/activate) during SafeSquid setup, or
upload under [Subscription](/configuration/infrastructure_and_access/subscription) when renewing —
status then shows on the [Support](/configuration/infrastructure_and_access/support) page's License
Details panel.
***
### Generate and download your SSL certificate
1. **Log in** to the portal.
2. **Open the Manage Certificates tab** — shows your C-code and Key Name against a **Generate**
action.
3. Click **Generate**, then **Download** the resulting certificate.
Certificate retrieval here must still be paired with endpoint trust deployment and SafeSquid-side
SSL inspection configuration — this step alone doesn't complete an HTTPS Inspection rollout.
**Details:** [SSL Inspection](/use_cases/ssl_inspection/ssl_inspection)
***
### Manage confidential-data signatures
1. **Log in** to the portal.
2. **Open the Manage Signatures tab** — shows "Available Signatures for \[C-code]" and an **Add
New** action, with a Keywords/Signature table (empty until you add one).
3. **Add New** opens an "Editing Signature for \[C-code]" form: a **Signature name** field and a
**Keywords** field (one keyword per line, with live regex detection — the form flags whether
what you typed reads as a regex pattern). **Submit** to save.
**Use for:** feeding custom keyword-based signatures into
[DLP](/configuration/real_time_content_security/dlp) OCR scoring on the appliance.
***
### Check or modify a website's category
1. **Log in** to the portal.
2. **Open the Manage Categories tab** — a **Check Website Category** / **Modify Category**
toggle.
3. **Check Website Category** takes a URL (protocol selector plus a `www.example.com`-style text
box) and a **Search** button — looks up how that URL is currently categorized.
4. **Modify Category** instead opens with a **Select Category** field (dropdown/autocomplete over
existing categories, not a URL search) — pick a category to act on.
**Use for:** looking up a site's current category, or changing which category an existing
category-set applies to.
***
### Check subscription status and conserve or renew
1. **Log in** to the portal.
2. **Open the Manage Account tab.**
3. **View:** Active Subscription status, Subscription ID, C-Code, Key Name, Plan (for example
Trial or Commercial), Named Users, No of Instances, and Support Validity date.
4. If you need more time before renewing, use **Conserve Subscription** — see
[Handle expiry](/deployment/manage_subscription_state) for what this does and does not buy you.
A "Renew Subscription" action was not visible on this tab for a Trial-plan account when last
checked (2026-09-02) — only Conserve Subscription showed. Whether Renew appears for a Commercial
plan, or lives somewhere else, is unconfirmed.
***
### Manage VPN client licensing
1. **Log in** to the portal.
2. **Open the Manage VPN tab.**
3. The tab lists your C-code and activation key against a **URL** field (unset by default —
shows "Not Defined") with a **Set URL** action.
**Use for:** licensing SafeSquid's roaming-user VPN web-security clients against this activation
key. This is also where the "Manage VPN settings" topic once flagged as missing from
[Configuration](/configuration/main) actually lives — it isn't a local console feature.
## Verification and validation
After using the portal, verify all of the following:
* the activation key is accepted by the SafeSquid deployment
* the expected license or subscription state appears on the instance
* custom categorization or related cloud-managed changes appear after sync
* SSL-related assets required for inspection workflows are available where expected
## Troubleshooting
| **Issue** | **Likely Cause** | **Fix** |
| ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Cannot login | Wrong credentials or account not activated | Reset password; check email for activation link |
| Activation key download fails | Browser cache or session expired | Clear cache, logout/login, try different browser |
| SSL-related workflow fails | Missing organization details or incomplete certificate workflow | Verify the portal state and then complete the SafeSquid-side SSL steps |
| Custom categories not applying | The instance is not synced to the correct activation context | Recheck the activation key and synchronization path |
| Cloud-linked features do not update | Restricted network path blocks portal or feed communication | Allowlist the required SafeSquid cloud dependencies |
## Related controls / next steps
* [Register and get your key](/getting_started/register) to establish the activation path
* [Activate your license](/getting_started/activate) to bind the deployment to the key
* [SSL Inspection](/use_cases/ssl_inspection/ssl_inspection) for certificate-dependent HTTPS inspection workflows
* [DLP](/configuration/real_time_content_security/dlp) for how Manage Signatures' keyword signatures get scanned
* [Support](/configuration/infrastructure_and_access/support) for the on-appliance License Details view and Cloud Restore