makecert.exe

I'm a .NET guy. And, a Visual Studio guy at that. At any rate, while playing with certificates I needed to generate my own to do some testing. Here are the key pieces of info for certificate work with a CLI:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A\bin>makecert.exe /?
Usage: MakeCert [ basic|extended options] [outputCertificateFile]
Basic Options
-sk <keyName> Subject's key container name; To be created if not present
-pe Mark generated private key as exportable
-ss <store> Subject's certificate store name that stores the output
certificate
-sr <location> Subject's certificate store location.
<CurrentUser|LocalMachine>. Default to 'CurrentUser'
-# <number> Serial Number from 1 to 2^31-1. Default to be unique
-$ <authority> The signing authority of the certificate
<individual|commercial>
-n <X509name> Certificate subject X500 name (eg: CN=Fred Dews)
-? Return a list of basic options
-! Return a list of extended options

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A\bin>makecert.exe -!
Usage: MakeCert [ basic|extended options] [outputCertificateFile]
Extended Options
-tbs <file> Certificate or CRL file to be signed
-sc <file> Subject's certificate file
-sv <pvkFile> Subject's PVK file; To be created if not present
-ic <file> Issuer's certificate file
-ik <keyName> Issuer's key container name
-iv <pvkFile> Issuer's PVK file
-is <store> Issuer's certificate store name.
-ir <location> Issuer's certificate store location
<CurrentUser|LocalMachine>. Default to 'CurrentUser'
-in <name> Issuer's certificate common name.(eg: Fred Dews)
-a <algorithm> The signature algorithm
<md5|sha1>. Default to 'md5'
-ip <provider> Issuer's CryptoAPI provider's name
-iy <type> Issuer's CryptoAPI provider's type
-sp <provider> Subject's CryptoAPI provider's name
-sy <type> Subject's CryptoAPI provider's type
-iky <keytype> Issuer key type
<signature|exchange|<integer>>.
-sky <keytype> Subject key type
<signature|exchange|<integer>>.
-l <link> Link to the policy information (such as a URL)
-cy <certType> Certificate types
<end|authority>
-b <mm/dd/yyyy> Start of the validity period; default to now.
-m <number> The number of months for the cert validity period
-e <mm/dd/yyyy> End of validity period; defaults to 2039
-h <number> Max height of the tree below this cert
-len <number> Generated Key Length (Bits)
-r Create a self signed certificate
-nscp Include netscape client auth extension
-crl Generate a CRL instead of a certificate
-eku <oid[<,oid>]> Comma separated enhanced key usage OIDs
-? Return a list of basic options
-! Return a list of extended options

And, to use this type of info, here's a link to a nice, practical how-to for working with certificates in .NET 2.0:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163454.aspx