Hey everyone, I'm a bit stuck here and could use some advice. I have a static public IP and recently purchased a domain and SSL certificate from Namecheap. I'm trying to set up my server on a LAN, and I've configured port forwarding for port 80 in my router. However, I'm unsure where to install the SSL certificate to secure my IP, especially since my router doesn't support SSL certificates. Any suggestions?
4 Answers
If you're planning to access your servers on a LAN, port forwarding isn't necessary. Since your public IP is static, just configure Namecheap to point your domain to your IP. For SSL, I recommend using something like Nginx Proxy Manager to handle the SSL setup. It makes managing connections much smoother.
You actually can’t use an SSL certificate with port 80 since SSL operates on port 443. To secure your connection, you'll need to install the certificate on the web server itself, whether it’s IIS or Apache. Just make sure your server is set to listen on port 443 for HTTPS traffic.
Simply put, you install the SSL certificate on the server running your website. If you want to secure a website, use port 443 for HTTPS instead of port 80 for HTTP. Just a heads-up, if networking isn’t your strong suit, be cautious with setting up port forwarding—it can lead to security vulnerabilities.
Make sure to place the SSL cert on the web service you’re running. And remember, you’ll need to forward port 443 for HTTPS, not port 80. Also, be careful with port forwarding as it can expose your network if you don’t know what you’re doing.
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