Question

How to check if a certificate is active?

Answer 1

To check if a certificate is active and check if an SSL certificate is installed correctly you can use online SSL checker tools like the https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html

You can also check if an SSL certificate is installed correctly, by entering the domain that the SSL certificate is on and look for https in the address bar of your web browser and look for a padlock icon as well.

If your websites SSL certificate is installed correctly, you should see a padlock icon and click "connection is secure" or "connection secure", then select an option like "certificate is valid" or "more information to open the SSL certificate viewer.

Common SSL errors are domain name mismatches, expired SSL certificates, untrusted SSL certificates and untrusted SSL certificate authorities, and incorrect installations or using a self signed SSL certificate.

If running an online store or selling services online, it's also best to use a paid SSL certificate, instead of a free SSL as it shows legitimacy to customers.

Although you can still use a free SSL, but paid SSL is recommended for businesses and online stores.

An expired SSL certificate is when the SSL certificate has not been renewed, which leads to browsers throwing a warning message about the website not being secure and the connection is not secure.

Another common error with SSL certificates is not linking images and other files to the https version of your domain, which can lead to the connection not being secure.

Ensure that all files, including images that are being shown on the website are linked through https and not just http.

SSL certificate name mismatch, is when the domain in the address bar of the web browser does not match the name that is on the SSL certificate.

Other common SSL errors include.

Untrusted Root Authority, which is when the certificate is self signed or not recognized by a trusted CA.

Broken Chain / Incomplete Chain, which is when missing or intermediate SSL certificates prevent trust verification.

Mixed Content warnings, which is when the secure https pages load non secure http resources like images.

Revoked SSL certificate, which is when the certificate was invalidated by the CA which leads to (NET::ERR_CERT_REVOKED).

SSL/TLS Handshake Failed, (SSL_ERROR_NO_CYPHER_OVERLAP), which is when browser and server can't agree on the encryption methods.

And having incorrect date and time, which is when the clients device like their computers clock and date is set incorrectly, which causes invalid time validation.

When an SSL certificate expires it also leads to the data being vulnerable between the website and browsers as the encryption of traffic between browsers and the website stops and so the data becomes vulnerable to attacks.

Port 443 is also the standard default port that is used for HTTPS or HTTP over SSL/TLS traffic.

Port 443 is used to establish secure and encrypted connections between a server and web browser, which protects data that is in transit between the website, server and users browser and computer.

When you see the https:// in a URL, it means that it's indeed communicating over port 443.

And although 443 is the standard SSL port, even port 8442 is also commonly used as an alternative https port as well.

SSL certificates are installed on your webserver and often in locations like /etc/ssl or /etc/letsencrypt on Linux servers.

The Windows Certificate Store (via certmgr.msc) and IIS or Apache/Nginx configuration directories.

SSL certificates are often stored as .crt , .pem, or .key files on web servers.

Some websites use cloudflare and use their SSL that is routed through cloudflare and not directly on the web server that is hosting the website.

SSL certificates are important for all websites, even blogs and websites that don't sell products or services.

Having an SSL certificate on your website can help your website rank in search engines including Google.

Without an SSL certificate on your website, your website will likely not rank in Google and other search engines.

You can buy and install a cheap SSL certificate or use the free SSL certificates, like through letsencrypt.

If your website uses cloudflare, you can use their provided SSL certificate on your website without needing to install it directly on the server.

SSL certificates can be found by clicking the padlock icon in a browser's address bar, in server configuration folders (like /etc/ssl/certs on Linux), or within the Windows Certificate Store.

SSL certificates are issued by Certificate Authorities (CAs) such as Let's Encrypt, Sectigo, or SSL.com, and are required for HTTPS encryption.