How To Setup Https On Nginx
Why do you need TLS or SSL on Nginx?
Using TLS or SSL on your Nginx webserver is important because it adds an extra layer of security and encryption to your web traffic. TSL and SSL also provide you with authenticity certificates, meaning your visitors will be protected against man-in-the-middle attacks and be reassured that they are on the real site they wanted to visit. TLS and SSL also help to improve your website ranking in search engines.
How to Generate the Certificates?
To get your website secured with TLS or SSL, you need to generate a set of certificates. Certificates are the key components of TLS or SSL. They are digital documents that are used to confirm the identity of your web server. You will need to generate at least two certificates to have TLS or SSL working correctly on your web server. The first one is the public certificate, which will be served by your web server. The second one is the private key, which should be kept in a secure place and not disclosed to the public.
Configuring Nginx to use TLS or SSL
Once you have generated the certificates, the next step is to configure Nginx to use the certificates. To do this, you need to edit the Nginx configuration file. The configuration file is usually located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf. In the configuration file, you will need to add the following lines in order to enable TLS or SSL.
ssl_certificate /[path to certificate]/your_public_certificate.crt;
ssl_certificate_key /[path to certificate]/your_private_key.key;
ssl_protocols TLSv1 TLSv1.1 TLSv1.2;
ssl_ciphers ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256;
This will enable TLS or SSL on your web server. Note that you should avoid using older versions of TLS or SSL protocols. You should also avoid using weak ciphers such as RC4. For the best security, you should use the most up-to-date and strongest ciphers available to you.
Testing the Nginx TLS or SSL Configuration
Once you have configured Nginx to use TLS or SSL, you need to test the configuration to make sure everything is working correctly. You can use the openssl utility to test the configuration. To test the configuration, run the following command:
openssl s_client -connect your_website.com:443
This command will test the configuration and tell you whether or not it is working correctly. If the test is successful, you will see a message like “Verify return code: 0 (ok)”. If there is a problem, you will see an error message letting you know what needs to be fixed.
Enabling HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)
HSTS is a security policy that forces browsers to communicate with your web server over an encrypted channel. To enable HSTS on your web server, you need to add the following line to the Nginx configuration file:
add_header Strict-Transport-Security “max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains” always;
This will configure the browser to only use HTTPS when connecting to your web server. This will ensure that all of the communications between the browser and the web server are done over an encrypted channel.
Enabling Redirect from HTTP to HTTPS
Once you have set up TLS or SSL and enabled HSTS, the next step is to ensure that all requests are being sent over HTTPS, and not just over HTTP. This can be done by redirecting all of the requests from HTTP to HTTPS. To do this, you need to add the following lines to the Nginx configuration file:
server {
listen 80;
server_name your_website.com;
return 301 https://your_website.com$request_uri;
}
This will cause the web server to redirect all requests from HTTP to HTTPS, ensuring that all of the requests are sent over an encrypted connection.
Monitoring and Managing TLS or SSL
Once you have set up and configured TLS or SSL on your web server, you need to monitor and manage it. This includes monitoring the certificates for expiration or revocation, and ensuring that any vulnerable or outdated versions of TLS or SSL have been replaced. You can use tools like Qualys SSL Server Test to periodically test your TLS or SSL configuration.
Conclusion
Setting up TLS or SSL on your Nginx web server is a necessary step for improving the security and privacy of your web traffic. The steps outlined in this article will help guide you through the process of generating certificates, configuring Nginx, and managing and monitoring TLS or SSL.
FAQs
Q: What is TLS?
A: TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a cryptographic protocol used to secure communications between two endpoints. It provides encryption, authenticity, and integrity of data in transit.
Q: What is SSL?
A: SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is an older version of TLS. It is being replaced by TLS but it is still used in some cases.
Q: How do I know if TLS or SSL is working correctly on my web server?
A: You can use the openssl utility to test the configuration. If the test is successful, you will see a message like “Verify return code: 0 (ok)”. If there is a problem, you will see an error message.
Thank you for reading this article. Please read other articles to learn more about setting up a secure server with TLS or SSL.
Related Posts:
- Nginx Redirect Non-Www To Www Nginx Redirect Non-Www to Www Overview of WWWs and Non-WWWs In the world of domains, there are two ways to access a website: with the WWW prefix and without it,…
- How To Configure Nginx Debian How To Configure Nginx Debian Introduction to Nginx Debian Nginx is a web server and reverse proxy that is used to host websites and manage incoming traffic over the world…
- How To Bypass 403 Forbidden Nginx How To Bypass 403 Forbidden Nginx Introduction 403 Forbidden Nginx is an HTTP status code that signals to visitors and search engines that they cannot access the requested web page…
- Nginx Css File Not Working In Https Nginx CSS File Not Working In Https Why HTTPS is Important for Nginx CSS Files Securing your website with HTTPS is an absolute must these days. Not only does it…
- Nginx Free Ssl Digital Ocean Nginx Free SSL on Digital Ocean What is Nginx? Nginx is an open-source web server software used for content caching, server-side scripting, proxy server configuration, and other functions. It is…
- Nginx Ssl Configuration Ubuntu 18.04 Nginx Ssl Configuration Ubuntu 18.04 What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server and reverse proxy software. It is used to manage web traffic on the internet, like…
- Nginx Reverse Proxy To Https Backend Nginx Reverse Proxy to HTTPS Backend What is a Reverse Proxy? Reverse proxies are an important component of computing networks. A reverse proxy is a web server that offloads workloads,…
- Nginx Multiple Web Sites One Ip Nginx Multiple Web Sites One Ip Introduction Nginx is a powerful and popular web server used by millions of websites and web application around the world. It is highly performant,…
- Setting Https Wordpress On Nginx Setting Https Wordpress On Nginx Setting Up An SSL Certificate In order to enable HTTPS on your WordPress site, you first need to add an SSL certificate. An SSL certificate…
- Setup Comodo Positive Ssl Nginx Setup Comodo Positive SSL Nginx Introduction to Comodo Positive SSL Comodo Positive SSL is an encrypted certificate issued by Comodo, a leading provider of security certificates. It helps to make…
- How To Install Lets Encrypt On Centos 7 Nginx How To Install Lets Encrypt On Centos 7 Nginx Purpose of Lets Encrypt Lets Encrypt is a free and open-source encryption certificate authority that provides digital certificates to website owners…
- Redirect Http To Https Nginx Redirect HTTP to HTTPS Nginx Why Should You Redirect HTTP to HTTPS Nginx? Many website owners are opting to use encrypted connections when delivering content to their visitors as a…
- Hide Html Extension On Nginx Disclaimer - This article is for informational purposes only. The author does not make any representations or warranties as to accuracy, completeness, or the results obtained from any information provided.…
- If Check Upstream Cookie Nginx If Check Upstream Cookie Nginx What is Check Upstream Cookie? Check Upstream Cookie is a security feature offered in Nginx Plus. It is used to protect web servers from malicious…
- Nginx Configuration File For Comodo Ssl Nginx Configuration File For Comodo Ssl What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server software package originally developed and made available for free to the public by Russian…
- Webuzo Run Nginx As User Webuzo Run Nginx As User What is Nginx? Nginx (pronounced "engine x") is a highly-configurable web server that is often used as a reverse proxy and load balancer. Nginx is…
- Reverse Proxy Nginx Dan Windows Server Reverse Proxy Nginx Dan Windows Server Introduction to Reverse Proxy Reverse proxy is a server that is used to receive requests from the Internet and forward them to other servers.…
- Nginx Was Loaded Over Https But Requested An… Nginx Was Loaded Over Https But Requested an Insecure Stylesheet Understanding the Problem When the Nginx webserver is loaded over HTTPS, the server is expected to make secure connections with…
- Where To Put Crt File In Nginx Where To Put Crt File In Nginx What Is an SSL Certificate and Why Do You Need It? An SSL certificate is an encryption layer that helps to ensure secure…
- Nginx Location Header Http To Https Nginx Location Header HTTP to HTTPS What Is Nginx? Nginx (pronounced "engine-x") is an open source web server software designed to handle high traffic websites and applications. It is a…
- Vhost Nginx Redirection External Url Vhost Nginx Redirection External Url What is a Virtual Host setup for Nginx Redirection? A virtual host setup is a configuration on a webserver that allows it to host multiple…
- Digitalocean Letsencrypt Nginx Ubuntu 18.04 Digitalocean Letsencrypt Nginx Ubuntu 18.04 Introduction Ubuntu 18.04 is the latest version of the popular Linux operating system. Digitalocean is a cloud hosting provider that specializes in hosting and managing…
- Setting Permalink Seo Friendly Nginx Error 404 Setting Permalink Seo Friendly Nginx Error 404 What is Nginx? Nginx (pronounced "engine x") is a popular and open-source web and reverse proxy server. It is becoming increasingly popular in…
- Disable Http Redirected To Https On Nginx Disable HTTP Redirected to HTTPS on Nginx What is HTTPS Redirection? HTTPS redirection is a method used by websites to ensure that users are connected to the secure https protocol…
- Nginx Force Https Redirect 301 Nginx Force Https Redirect 301 What is Nginx Force Https Redirect 301? Nginx Force Https Redirect 301 is an important feature of the Nginx web-server. This feature can be used…
- Nginx Reverse Proxy Upstream Ssl Nginx Reverse Proxy Upstream Ssl What is Nginx Reverse Proxy? Nginx reverse proxy is a technique used to provide internet users with the ability to access services on a variety…
- Nginx Redirect To Https Host Nginx Redirect To Https Host What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server designed to be lightweight, secure, and high performance. It delivers a wide range of features…
- Certbot Ubuntu 18.04 Nginx Certbot Ubuntu 18.04 Nginx Introduction to Certbot in Ubuntu 18.04 Certbot, formerly known as Let’s Encrypt, is an open-source certificate authority (CA) managed by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG).…
- Location Allow X Real Ip Nginx Location Allow X Real Ip Nginx What Is a Real IP? A real IP is an actual IP address of your website from the internet. It is used to uniquely…
- Proxyradar Found On Nginx Access.Log Proxyradar Found On Nginx Access.Log What is proxyradar? Proxyradar is an open-source utility that provides an efficient and secure way to monitor and secure your website’s access log. Proxyradar uses…