Re: [Phys-L] Phys-L and HTTPS

["Don" <dgpolvani@gmail.com>]

Encrypted channel works fine on my Windows 10 desktop, Amazon HD 8 tablet,
and Apple iPhone.

Don

Dr. Donald Polvani
Adjunct Faculty, Physics, Retired
Anne Arundel Community College
Arnold, MD 21012

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Phys-l [mailto:phys-l-bounces@mail.phys-l.org] On Behalf Of Mark
> Kimball via Phys-l
> Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2017 10:59 AM
> To: phys-l@phys-l.org
> Cc: Mark Kimball <phydocmarko@gmail.com>
> Subject: [Phys-L] Phys-L and HTTPS
>
> All,
>
> Before yesterday, if a web browser asked for a more-secure encrypted
> communication to the Phys-L server (using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
> Secure, AKA HTTPS), the public key certificate that was presented to the
> browser was self-signed by myself. This certificate is needed to initiate
the
> secure transfer. Being self-signed, it is not validated by a trusted third
party.
> Most present-day browsers will warn the user that the connection may not
> be trusted fully. This may be disconcerting in the least and has caused
some
> Phys-L subscribers to not view the archives on a regular basis.
>
> To alleviate these concerns I began to investigate a low-cost way to have
a
> public key certificate signed by a trusted third party. I did find a
method to
> produce a certificate at no cost and was emboldened to pursue this path
> upon the recommendation of John Denker, familiar to most, if not all,
Phys-L
> subscribers. I have now setup up the server to use such a certificate and
I
> would like to use this on Phys-L going forward. It seems to be working
well
> on my end, both desktop and mobile, and I would like to hear if there are
any
> issues with the use of any secure communication to Phys-L.
>
> To access Phys-L using an encrypted channel, you simply point a browser to
> Phys-L using https://www.phys-l.org as the URL. By the way, the method
> used to acquire a no-cost certificate is provided by a project called
"Let's
> Encrypt". More information on this project may be found here:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let's_Encrypt .
>
> Cheers and a Happy New Year,
> Mark Kimball, Administrator
> Phys-L.org
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