Author Topic: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?  (Read 1792 times)

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Offline Fox_Of_The_Wind

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Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« on: June 24, 2017, 05:01:40 PM »
Godaddy called me yesterday when I got home from work to tell me that my website is not cell phone friendly and that it doesn't have a SSL Certificates also. I told them that the website is just a hobby site (Something to messing around on when I have time). They said if I don't change my website to SSL Certificates that Google search engine will drop my site on its listings. I told them I don't care. and that was it. They did not push it. I just got to thinking and I was doing some searching on here and I have seen some have changed their weather site so it works with SSL......Would it be wise for me to do the same? I just can't think of a good reason right now (I am just too cheap)
« Last Edit: June 24, 2017, 05:06:52 PM by Fox_Of_The_Wind »

Anthony

Offline Maumelle Weather

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2017, 05:05:27 PM »
I changed mine to SSL when my webhost (ICDSoft) starting using Let's Encrypt and is offering it for free. Didn't cost me anything to get it installed. My webhost did all of the work.

John
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Offline Fox_Of_The_Wind

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2017, 05:06:32 PM »
I changed mine to SSL when my webhost (ICDSoft) starting using Let's Encrypt and is offering it for free. Didn't cost me anything to get it installed. My webhost did all of the work.

John

That would be just about the only way I would change. if it was free.

Anthony

Offline PaulMy

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2017, 05:08:27 PM »
I had considered it but not at the additional cost that GoDaddy wanted!

Enjoy,
Paul

Offline Fox_Of_The_Wind

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2017, 05:13:51 PM »
I had considered it but not at the additional cost that GoDaddy wanted!

Enjoy,
Paul

I am in the same boat.

I keep telling myself its just a hobby its just a hobby.

Anthony

Offline ALITTLEweird1

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #5 on: June 24, 2017, 09:51:37 PM »
I changed mine also cause it was free with 1and1.
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Offline Jáchym

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #6 on: June 24, 2017, 10:57:38 PM »
Google will definitely not drop your site from search results if you don't change

Offline SoMDWx

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2017, 03:57:17 PM »
I changed mine to SSL when my webhost (ICDSoft) starting using Let's Encrypt and is offering it for free. Didn't cost me anything to get it installed. My webhost did all of the work.

John

John,

 DI dyou have to do any redirects from the HTTP to HTTPS pages?

Offline mldenison

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2017, 04:59:44 PM »
Today, I just added an SSL certificate to my website from GoDaddy.

I found this information from them:

Code: [Select]
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

It does automatically redirect my website from http to https after putting this into my .htaccess file.

My web browser does not show a lock for a secure site and I'm guessing that's because there are http:// links in both the Saratoga site and the Leuven site.

I have no idea what to do about those and I don't know if the .htaccess file redirects these link to https:// or if I have to change them all.  And if I do, will they all work.

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Offline gwwilk

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2017, 08:16:02 PM »
Today, I just added an SSL certificate to my website from GoDaddy.

I found this information from them:

Code: [Select]
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

It does automatically redirect my website from http to https after putting this into my .htaccess file.

My web browser does not show a lock for a secure site and I'm guessing that's because there are http:// links in both the Saratoga site and the Leuven site.

I have no idea what to do about those and I don't know if the .htaccess file redirects these link to https:// or if I have to change them all.  And if I do, will they all work.
You need to go through the exceptions revealed by <CTRL><Shift>I in Chrome or FF and change them from http:// to https://, and that will eventually result in the 'lock' you're seeking.
Regards, Jerry Wilkins
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Offline wvdkuil

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #10 on: June 26, 2017, 03:23:13 AM »
Today, I just added an SSL certificate to my website from GoDaddy.
. . . shortened . . .
I have no idea what to do about those and I don't know if the .htaccess file redirects these link to https:// or if I have to change them all.  And if I do, will they all work.
  • It is a private weather-website, not a company site selling goods and asking for creditcard and passwords
  • It is a LOT of work as some essential information (images or iframes) displayed on our weather-sites come from other resources which do not have https either
  • Some scrips are loaded from sites without https, so you have to copy those scripts and make available from your site. Questions: does the author allow that and are you prepared to update the scripts frequently. Yowindow is an example but it is also a Flash script and considered dangerous by default.
Is it doable:
Yes, it is easy if you build your own website with only your content you serve directly from your own server.
Yes the forecast scripts a.s.o. can be run from your own site, as long as the icons are available via https.
Yes you can use Chrome inspect (right click => choose "inspect") and see all errors, then change all those http links mentioned to https

But even if you change all possible links to https you have to remove some images as they are not available via https :
http://images.blitzortung.org/Images/image_b_us.png
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/eaus/wv-animated.gif

Only when all links to images and .js files are available with https://  you will get the nice green closed lock next to the link
https://www.m82a1.us/wxforecast.php
But better test with all browsers if they all agree and all of them serve the page with the green lock

===
 
Important (IMHO): Consider to do it step by step.
When converting from http: to https: you should remove the redcirect http => http in the .htaccess file.
Display every page with http in a browser window
Copy the url to another browser window and change it to https
That way you can compare if the errors are caused by invalid https content and not because a script was not updated.
An example: https://www.m82a1.us/wxquake.php => does not work with https but also not with http.
You should make the page working under http  first, before testing https.

It will take some time, but you will succeed.

===
The Leuven-Template is compatible with https for about 90% now, but I am still waiting for Blitzortung and other important providers to make the switch before releasing a maintenance update.  And at this moment, the NWS-NOAA forecast change
 (postponed to August) and the NOAA SOAP_server problems and the frequent unannounced changes of weather links have more priority.
 
Wim
 






Offline mldenison

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #11 on: June 26, 2017, 09:58:08 AM »
Thanks for the comprehensive reply, Wim.

This is not as easy as just getting an SSL certificate.

I now see that with all the links in the website weather package, there are sites who do not have https available.

And I have a few pages that have issues like the wxquake.php page.

I have some work to do.
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Offline Lucht

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #12 on: June 29, 2017, 04:26:53 PM »
I'm following this topic with interest as I tried changing my site from http to https (with a Let's Encrypt certificate), but started having all kinds of problems due to the reasons listed in above posts. In the end, I went back to http. Not desirable in my view, but.... *shrug*

Offline mldenison

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #13 on: June 29, 2017, 04:39:25 PM »
I'm following this topic with interest as I tried changing my site from http to https (with a Let's Encrypt certificate), but started having all kinds of problems due to the reasons listed in above posts. In the end, I went back to http. Not desirable in my view, but.... *shrug*

I'll keep plugging away, but I did take the redirect out of my .htaccess file.  It is a pain.
Windows 7 x64
Weather PC: Intel NUC
Davis Vantage Pro 2
Weather Underground: KPAYORK30
York, PA Weather (Saratoga)
York, PA Weather (Leuven)
York, PA PWS Station

Offline AF6GL

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Re: Do I need to change to SSL Certificates website?
« Reply #14 on: June 30, 2017, 02:52:36 PM »
From all the geek news stuff I follow they say that Google is changing their algorithm on how search engine optimization (SEO) works.

Those sites using https will rank higher in their results. True if monetization and discoverability is not important to you I don't see any reason to change except to future proof. I'm sure it will be required at some distant point for security of the WWW as a whole but that could be years away.


 

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