http or https

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User avatar

Posts: 825

Latest Firefox gives warning relating to security issues of http

this link

I notice this (ourboard) is https, how is this achieved? Yes, googled but so many words and dont understand.

How much of an issue is a forum, for example, not being https?

User avatar

Admin

Posts: 11073

Since January 2017, a big issue; hence why I got, installed and redirected to https, as well as had to fix a few bugs that arose.

This is one of the skills required for being a webmaster today.

User avatar

Posts: 825

So as i dont have any of these skills none of my sites, forums or any of those i help manage are secure then? :eek

User avatar

Admin

Posts: 11073

There is a difference between being secure (which they likely are) and using https. Google will down-rank the site (because man in the middle attacks are possible) and warning messages may deter visitors.

Sites which do not appear to have a login, will likely be unaffected. Not a 100% guarantee though.

Nothing has changed other than Google policy.

User avatar

Posts: 825

Ah ha, thanks.

I read that one's site needs it's own fixed IP so my guess is that I couldn't do this anyway with shared hosting(?)

Step 1: Host with a dedicated IP address. In order to provide the best security, SSL certificates require your website to have its own dedicated IP address. ...
Step 2: Buy a Certificate. ...
Step 3: Activate the certificate. ...
Step 4: Install the certificate. ...
Step 5: Update your site to use HTTPS.


Sites which do not appear to have a login, will likely be unaffected.

But as forums do have logins aren't they affected?

User avatar

Admin

Posts: 11073

Actually, the easiest way is likely to ask the host (or read their documentation).

Only sites either with a login or that accept payments are affected by this policy change. Old-fashioned static sites can continue as they were.

(remember to press «submit» over 3 hours later)

User avatar

Posts: 825

Thanks

....and :rollin

User avatar

Admin

Posts: 11073

Sorry. I missed an edit on my delayed reply.

Yes, of course forums would be affected by this new policy, so long as the login is detectable. It's conceivable that either a robots.txt directive or conditional redirect may obscure this and it is not. However, if a site is essentially dead, does it really matter if it ranks well (is it responsive?) or a handful of die-hards get a warning?

My only reason for keeping this particular board open (as distinct from active, which it deliberately has not been for 2+ years) is because it does receive traffic for certain queries, and I'm happy to retain that traffic, at least for the time being. In fact, only today the host emailed me that they had automatically renewed my certificate for this forum, along with many other sites that I converted on the same day. (It actually coincided with me starting a fresh site with HTTPS from scratch and converting a batch while I waited for DNS to propagate.)

Anyhow, the bottom line is this is a webmaster's job and not a forum admin's. The policy is aimed at people using non-private networks in particular. It may or may not be significant. Hosts vary and should be treated individually. Some hosts make it easier than others. Most webmasters would have been aware of this upcoming change last year, just the same as the requirement for a site to be mobile-friendly back in April 2015. One has to keep abreast of the times.

As an aside, I do have a huge, well-trafficked site I look after and I've not yet converted it. Reason: I've other things to do and these take higher priority. Stats show that if people are even getting a warning, they are still trusting the site and using it. In spite of this, it would be an asset to convert the site, as this would significantly change the state of play with the competition. Sure, if the competition converted, the priority would rise.

User avatar

Posts: 825

Thanks for the reply :)

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