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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    58

    Certificate vs SSL login, what does it mean?

    I have a reseller hosting account that I use for all my websites. Recently whenever I go to login to cpanel I get a warning message in Firefox and I have to add an exception to proceed to my cpanel login page. When I asked my host about this they said the reason this started happening is because the certificate isn't there because they moved the login over to SSL.

    1. What exactly does this mean?
    2. Is it normal that on a reseller hosting plan I should be seeing this warning and needing to add my own site as an exception in my browser?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts
    832
    Quote Originally Posted by lappyhappy View Post
    1. What exactly does this mean?
    Possibly, that your provider has no idea what they're doing. Possibly just that the person answering your ticket has no idea what they're doing.

    It largely depends on the actual reason for the error, to be honest. Is the certificate expired? Self-signed? Issued for a different FQDN than the one you're using? More than one of the above?

    2. Is it normal that on a reseller hosting plan I should be seeing this warning and needing to add my own site as an exception in my browser?
    Not really, but it largely depends on why you're getting the error. If they have a valid certificate for, say, server1.foo.tld, and you're accessing yoursite.yourdomain.tld, then yes, it's normal, and you should use the correct FQDN the cert is valid for. If on the other hand you're seeing a self-signed cert, an expired cert, or a generic Apache snake-oil cert, then no, it's not normal...
    redpin.com - offering amazingly competent email, dns, and web hosting since 2002... because someone has to!
    Because Simple Things Should Be Simple - YouCANHasDNS

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    58
    Thanks. I'm still trying to understand if this should be happening or not.

    One thing I forgot to mention... in the past when I would go to mydomain.com/cpanel a login window would open. But since this change took place that doesn't happen anymore. Instead, I first get this (see Image1)

    And then when I click the log in link I get this (see Image2)


    I preferred when I could just go to mydomain.com/cpanel, have a popup window ask for my login, and then I'm in my cpanel with no problems.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Image1.jpg   Image2.jpg  

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Colombia
    Posts
    2,150
    They are using SSL but with a self-generated certificate, it will encrypt the connection, but the certificate doesn't come from a trusted issuer.
    █ Diego Rodríguez B. - https://diegorbaquero.com
    █ Software Engineer @ Protocol Labs | Filecoin Saturn

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts
    832
    Well, image1 is because your provider enabled/forced SSL connections, which is (IMO) a good thing.

    What does Firefox's 'technical details' from image2 say? That's going to be where the problem lies...
    redpin.com - offering amazingly competent email, dns, and web hosting since 2002... because someone has to!
    Because Simple Things Should Be Simple - YouCANHasDNS

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    58
    Thank you for the replies and info.

    I have already created an exception so right now I'm not receiving the warning, but I will try to re-create the warning and then I'll post the technical details.

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