Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
HoL "Certificate Error"
A few members have written in recently flagging a "certificate errors" they've been getting when using HoL.
This happens because the site is actually hosted at www.harringay.ning.com but it is redirected to there via harringayonline.com. I'm told that the warning is shown because the SSL certificate is issued to .ning.com addresses and doesn't match harringayonline.com. This has only just started apparently because SSL protocols have just been changed worldwide. To resolve the "certificate error" Ning need to reinstate a certificate redirect fix - apparently in progress, but not straightforward.
In the meantime, whilst its not good news for us because it understandably makes users concerned, I'm told that there is absolutely nothing for users to worry about.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris Setz on
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If your hosting package allows you to add your own SSL certificate, Hugh, then the open source movement charity LetsEncrypt are on a mission to get everyone SSL'd for free so as to better secure the net. I've used their scheme, it really is free but needs a techie.
If ning will let you have your custom domain handled by cloudfare, their free SSL system is simpler and does a lot more. For example, you could have a 'microsite' called forum.harringayonline.com or whatever, hosted elsewhere.
Why bother? If you have the tech support it makes you more independent of your host.
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Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on
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Thanks. When you say 'handled by', do you mean my having them as HoL's domain registrar?
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No - at the registrar, you name Cloudfare as the service that handles your DNS.
You add a nameserver, say:
kay.cloudfare.com
Then, at cloudfare, you tell the DNS where you want your domain to go - that's where you can split different parts of it.
There is no cloudfare overhead doing this (in fact a small acceleration). Cloudfare brings a number of extra features, notably automatic caching of your web assets. They're one of the largest DNS providers on the net, and have been for some time. I have all my domains with them, all for free.
You can get free domains (must renew every year) from the registrar freenom.com - you can try it all out using harringay.gq or whatever...
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You can do what you like.
harringayonline.com and www.harringayonline.com SSL'd by cloudfare and go to ning.
Any other 'microsite', like forum.harringayonline.com goes wherever you want and has no effect on the others.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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OK, thanks. So to do that would I need to transfer any domain names I have on redirect to Ning to Cloudfare as the registrar?
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No, whoever is your registrar stays as your registrar. Internet rules require there to be a database (held on a server) that maps the name of your domain to its location on an internet-connected computer somewhere. A so-called 'name server'.
Your registrar either uses their own nameserver, or you tell them to use another.
So, to transfer control of your domain away from your registrar, you tell the Registrar to tell the internet domain name system that if they want to locate haringayonline.com or whatever, they must query kay.cloudfare.com (one of cloudfare's name servers).
At the moment, according to http://harringayonline.com.w3lookup.net/ your domain's nameserver has the following entry (obtained from your Registrar's nameserver) :
harringayonline.com 50.63.202.27
www.harringayonline.com harringayonline.com
If you tell your registrar to use cloudfares nameservers, you must also add these same entries to cloudfares nameserver record for your domain. Both your registrars and cloudfares nameservers can be active simultaneously until the old one fades away, so there will be no interruption of service to the users.
Once nameserver control has passed to cloudfare, everything should work as normal - the difference is that you can add/update/delete nameserver entries (and a lot more besides) yourself. Most changes are instant.
The Domain Name System copies valid nameserver entries onto a series of bulletproof distributed databases. When someone types in harringayonline.com it gets looked up in these databases and the query is passed to the IP address supplied - simples! The query lands at the server the IP address points to - the server displays the content.
As I wrote, you need a techie to do all this. We haven't mentioned mail servers for instance - work exactly the same but might need setting up - I use the free ones at mailgun but that might not suit you. There's also security to consider, so that your domains don't pollute - SPF and DKIM are pretty standard now but need setting up.
Clear as mud, eh?
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This is now fixed and HoL is fully SSL compliant.
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Good news that ning finally adopted the Let's Encrypt free and open source approach to SSL and many congrats for grasping this nettle, Hugh.
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