Shared SSL Cert

[Ron]

Ok, so I decided that I only want to see a particular page in my site through a secure connection. I don't care to have it behind a password, I just want the communications to be secure and I don't want other browser plugins (eg google and alexa et. al.) to view them. My understanding is that they cannot or do not look at secure pages.

Anyway, I've never really tried to use the shared SSL certificate on my site except for the POP email server.

When I try to look at my site, I entered

https://www.mysite.com/
and of course that didn't work.

Then I entered

https://<machine-name>.nocdirect.com/~<username>
https://<machine-name>.nocdirect.com/~<username>/
https://secure##.nocdirect.com/~<username>
https://secure##.nocdirect.com/~<username>/
https://<machine-name>.nocdirect.com/<username>
https://<machine-name>.nocdirect.com/<username>/
https://secure##.nocdirect.com/<username>
https://secure##.nocdirect.com/<username>/

None of which work.

I believe the error coming back is a DNS error....

There are no errors in the error log.

Can anybody give me a clue?

Thanks.

[Spathiphyllum]

Originally posted by Ron
Ok, so I decided that I only want to see a particular page in my site through a secure connection...
Then I entered...
https://secure##.nocdirect.com/~<username>
https://secure##.nocdirect.com/~<username>/
None of which work.

These look ok^.
I use it quite a bit. The proper path is:
https://secure**.nocdirect.com/~****...h/to/file.html where ** is number and ****** is username. If you clip "/path/to/file.html" or "path/to/file.html" from the full URL, it should take you to your homepage. Are you using a modrewrite rule or something to deny access? Something does not seem right because it should resolve.

To see one of my (now fake) sample paths, check out: https://secure**.nocdirect.com/~user...t.cgi?do=login

It's also possible that you have a security setting in your browser that is timing out before the certificate server responds, thus feeding you a DNS error for the certificate server and not your site.

Edited by Spathiphyllum to protect the innocent

[Ron]

No special coding or naming convention eh? well... I guess I'll open a ticket.
Maybe this is the same reason that I still get warnings in my email clients when using the secure server.

thx.

[jason]

Ron,

What server are you on? If, by chance, you are an ex-Aletian then your server may not have a shared certificate on it (As it wasn't part of the Aletia plans or something like that. Or, if you're on one of the older JPC servers (like I am) your URL will be https://server##.u-build-it.net/~username instead of nocdirect.com. Check the network status page for your server and you'll see the proper URL that you shold be using.

Also, if you wnat to keep robots off of your page, I wouldn't just assume that they won't ever look at an https page. You may want to go a step farther, using a robots exclusion file and/or meta tag to block them as well.

--Jason

[Spathiphyllum]

Originally posted by Ron
...I don't want other browser plugins (eg google and alexa et. al.) to view them. My understanding is that they cannot or do not look at secure pages.

I'll agree with jason here and say HTTPS addresses alone are not enough of an impediment to stop spidering. Only with password protection can you be sure to stop them. I have logs of robots getting redirected to my 403 and occassional 404 error page when I use password protection.

Unfortunately, only "good" spiders will follow your meta rules or robots file - the ones with good etiquette; but there is no enforceable requirement for this unless the RFC has been redefined. Spiders may search at will and at whatever rate they want.

[Ron]

Sigh..... Now I have to figure out how to code for PW protection...? It was supposed to be an easy weekend...

I'll let someone else post the php auth code if they really feel the need (he sighs, plaintively)

Yup, Jason, I've got the right cert addy.... supposedly. thx.
Opened a ticket no immediate email and no response yet. That's unusual.

[Spathiphyllum]

Webmaster with an easy weekend? Since when? Did I miss the meeting?

[jason]

Easiest way to password protect a page is to just use the feature in CPanel. As long as you have a fairly static list of allowed users that method works pretty well.

--Jason

[Ron]

I'll look into that. Really looking for the brainless way out and that might be it.

Only 1 user -- me. So the password thingy, I'd want it to be secure as well, so that my un/pw aren't sent in the clear. That's another reason to need the shared SSL, I'd guess....

To tell the truth, it's a script that I've been using for months, and the results are private text from a database. I've checked with the major engines, and none of the text is appearing anywhere, so I'm fairly certain that google is not using it's toolbar data to drive its target indexing list.

(Another thread got me thinking about this subject)

[Spathiphyllum]

Ron - The SSL works great with one caveat that you'll notice immediately. The site will run a little slower. Well, not the site itself, but the transmission since it needs extra processing for encrypting/decrypting IP packets. If you have numerous graphics, you'll really notice it. Also, some SSL data isn't cached, so often it's a new download of every webpage component on every request depending on how the page was created. I think dynamic pages are the worst but someone else may need to chime in here to confirm this.

[Ron]

Thanks for the caveat... but in my case it's just a single page of plain text !

[Ron]

Received an update from support that they're ordering the certificate....

I guess nobody else on that whole machine uses one?

(I should add that over the years I have tried the same thing, jsut for the heck of it, a few times, and it has never worked. I just never needed it until now, so I figured that I was doing something wrong, or that there needed to be special coding or filenames or whatever... So I never followed up on the probable non-issue.)

Thanks support!

I hate to think that they need to spend money for a cert just for me for this stupid use.... if it makes my other problem go away with secured access and outlook then that's worth it.... to me....)

Maybe they ought to move me to a newer machine (I don't want to be on the newest machine) instead of spending the money...

[Spathiphyllum]

Originally posted by Ron - quotes in bold

I guess nobody else on that whole machine uses one?
Some may be using their own certificate or a third party certificate.

...I have tried the same thing, jsut for the heck of it, a few times, and it has never worked...so I figured that I was doing something wrong, or that there needed to be special coding or filenames or whatever...
Sounds like some of the research experiments I did. Sometimes you wondered if you just put your shoes on in the wrong order because there was no reason why you shouldn't be able to repeat your results.

I hate to think that they need to spend money for a cert just for me for this stupid use...Maybe they ought to move me to a newer machine...instead of spending the money
Well, you contribute enough on the forum to warrant a discount anyway. That's a value added service isn't it?

[Ron]

Originally posted by Spathiphyllum
Sounds like some of the research experiments I did. Sometimes you wondered if you just put your shoes on in the wrong order because there was no reason why you shouldn't be able to repeat your results.

Cold Fusion guy? lol

Every fourth or fifth time I printed something when my dog was in the office he yelped. It took me a month to figure out his tail was under the leg of my rocking/office chair, and when I leaned forward to pick up the printout...

Ok, not a true story, but they never came up with the answer for that one on
expertcity.com


They decided it was due to a high pitch from the laser printer
Heck, I'd hear that.

[Ron]

Ok, before I get letters,

Stolen from a Non-authoritarian source
At the higher sounds, humans can hear up to approximately 20,000 cycles per second. Dogs can hear sounds of frequencies of up to 35,000 to 45,000 cycles. Cats can hear sounds of an amazingly high pitch -- sounds up to 100,000 cycles per second!