SSL Everywhere! For Free!

Bob Morse
December 19, 2017

Be sure you are practicing safe web browsing. Always look for the little padlock in the web address field. If you’re a website owner and you host with us, your site now has that option. For free!

Security and Privacy are Important

Every few weeks it seems we hear the news of a big security breach with some online service. Everything from passwords to social security numbers and birth dates are stolen and put up on the dark web for sale. At the same time cyber security technology is trying to get ahead of the threats.

In one such effort, the hosting software we use, called cPanel, recently implemented a new feature called AutoSSL which allows us to provide a free SSL certificate for all hosting accounts. SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer and it adds a level of encryption to websites so that when you submit a web form or place an order in an online store, the data you send through the website to the site owner is encrypted in transit. Without the SSL certificate, the data is transported across the Internet in plain text ripe for harvesting by bad actors. 

Making the web more secure is so important, the Google Chrome browser is flagging websites without SSL as “Insecure”. Don’t let your site be flagged.

 

If you want to see this in action, simply visit your website (if hosted by us) using https. For example, https://morsemedi... or https://redwoodho.... You can also login to your account’s cPanel. Look for the Security section and click on SSL/TLS Status. You will see all the domains including sub-domains that are covered with a free SSL certificate.

The problem, of course, is to make sure everyone is accessing your site using the secured version. There are a number of ways this can be done. One simple way is in your cPanel, go to Domains -> Redirects and set up a permanent 301 Redirect such that any requests for http redirects to https.

The 301 redirect works well if you are not using a dynamic system like WordPress or Drupal to manage your site. If you are, it’s best to use the internal site system software to direct visitors to the https version.

UAsk us if you need help with this and above all, “Be safe out there.”