Letsencrypt Ubuntu 12.04 Nginx


Letsencrypt Ubuntu 12.04 Nginx

What is a Let’s Encrypt Certificate?

Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority (CA). It will allow you to secure your website with an SSL certificate without having to pay for a web hosting service. Let’s Encrypt will generate an SSL certificate that is valid for up to 3 months and can be renewed on a rolling basis. It’s a great way to quickly and easily secure your website and improve your user experience.

Why use an SSL certificate? By using an SSL certificate, you can help protect your website from hackers and other malicious attacks. It also protects the data that your customers enter into your website and helps give them peace of mind.

How to Install Letsencrypt on Ubuntu 12.04

Before you can install the Letsencrypt Ubuntu 12.04 Nginx package, you’ll need to have Nginx installed. You can follow our guide on how to install Nginx on Ubuntu 12.04. Once you have Nginx installed, you can proceed with the installation of the Letsencrypt package.

The first step to install Letsencrypt is to install its command-line client. This client will allow you to issue and manage SSL certificates from the command line. To install the Letsencrypt Client, use this command:

sudo apt-get install letsencrypt python-letsencrypt-apache

Once the package is installed, you can generate your certificates. The command-line client will ask you for a series of information such as your domain name and contact details. Once you’ve entered the information, the client will generate your certificate and give you the option to install it on your server.

Configure Nginx with the SSL Certificate

Once you’ve generated your certificate with the Letsencrypt Client, you’ll need to configure Nginx to use it. To do so, edit the nginx.conf file in your Nginx directory and add the following lines:

ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;

ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

Make sure to replace “yourdomain.com” with your own domain name. Once you’ve made the changes to the nginx.conf file, save it and restart Nginx with the following command:

sudo service nginx restart

Renew Your Letsencrypt SSL Certificate

Let’sencrypt certificate can be renewed automatically, if your Linux distribution supports cron jobs or systemd timer. Typically this command is installed as a cron job to run every month:

sudo letsencrypt renew

It will renew all certificates that are due to expire in the next 30 days. If you don’t have cron job set up, you will need to manually renew your certificate periodically.

Adding a Redirect from HTTP to HTTPS

It’s important to make sure that all traffic to your website is redirected to HTTPS, as this will ensure all data is encrypted. To do this, you’ll need to edit your Nginx configuration file and add the following line:

server {
listen 80;
server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
return 301 https://yourdomain.com$request_uri;
}

Make sure to replace “yourdomain.com” with your own domain name. Once you’ve made the changes, save the file and restart Nginx.

Securing Nginx with SSL/TLS

Once you’ve obtained your SSL Certificate, you’ll need to add it to your Nginx configuration. You’ll also need to enable SSL/TLS in order to secure your website. To do this, edit your Nginx configuration file and add the following lines:

ssl_protocols TLSv1 TLSv1.1 TLSv1.2;

ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;

ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m;

Once you’ve added the lines, save the file and restart Nginx.

Conclusion

Letsencrypt is an easy and free way to secure your website and encrypt data being sent and received. It’s a good way to add an extra layer of security to your website and give your customers peace of mind. By following the steps in this guide, you’ll be able to easily install and configure Letsencrypt on Ubuntu 12.04 to secure your website with an SSL certificate.

FAQs

What is the purpose of Let’s Encrypt?

The purpose of Let’s Encrypt is to provide an easy and free way to secure web servers with an SSL certificate.

How do I generate a Let’s Encrypt certificate?

You can generate a Let’s Encrypt certificate by using the Let’s Encrypt command-line client.

Do I need to renew my Let’s Encrypt certificate?

Yes, the certificates are valid for up to 3 months and must be renewed before they expire.

Is Let’s Encrypt secure?

Yes, Let’s Encrypt is a secure and reliable certificate authority. It was created by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) and is supported by top organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Mozilla.

Thank you for reading this article. For more information, please refer to our other articles.

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