Website security certificates serve as essential elements to provide users with safe browsing security. The expiration of SSL/TLS certificates results in security warnings and lost customer trust and possible website downtime. Your website maintains continuous security by implementing SSL certificate expiration monitoring which prevents these security problems.
This guide provides information about examining certificate expiration dates alongside expiration response procedures and automated expiration monitoring setup.
How to Check Certificate Expiration Date on a Website
Website visitors can easily check the expiration date of their SSL/TLS certificate through specific methods.
It is vital to inspect your website’s SSL certificate expiration date at regular intervals for the purpose of avoiding service interruptions. Here’s how you can do it:
1. Using a Web Browser
Most internet browsers provide straightforward access to SSL certificate details through simple check procedures.
- You can check website certificates by opening the domain through Google Chrome or another current browser.
- Open the website and select the padlock icon within the address bar.
- The “Connection is secure” window will display a valid certificate under “Certificate is valid.”
- The expiration date of the certificate appears in the “Valid from” section of the window that appears.
2. Using Online SSL Checker Tools
Users can check website certificate expiration dates through multiple free online tools.
- Uptivol SSL Certificate checker
- WhyNoPadlock (whynopadlock.com)
- SSL Checker by SSLShopper (sslshopper.com)
These online tools require you to input your website’s domain and they will reveal essential certificate information such as issuer details and expiration schedule along with security risk findings.
3. You can check SSL expiration duration through a command line interface.
Developers together with system administrators can use the command line to verify SSL certificate expiration dates rapidly.
Linux/Mac Terminal
echo | openssl s_client -connect yourwebsite.com:443 -servername yourwebsite.com 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -dates
This command returns the certificate’s start and expiration dates.
Windows PowerShell
$cert = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::ServerCertificateValidationCallback = {$true}
$req = [System.Net.HttpWebRequest]::Create(“https://yourwebsite.com”)
$req.GetResponse() | Out-Null
$req.ServicePoint.Certificate.GetExpirationDateString()
It will output the SSL certificate expiration date
How Do I Check a Website Security Certificate?
Examining a security certificate requires more than just observing its expiration date. You should verify:
1. Certificate Authority (CA) Validity
A website security certificate must come from established CAs like Let’s Encrypt or DigiCert or GlobalSign.
2. Domain Name Matching
The security certificate must use the exact domain name that you have on your website. Browser security systems display alerts whenever certificates do not match correctly.
3. Encryption Strength
The certificate should protect information with TLS 1.2 or TLS 1.3 encryption standards for maximum security. Organizations should refrain from using TLS 1.0 or SSL 3.0 as outdated protocols.
4. Check for Certificate Chain Issues
Use SSL Labs or OpenSSL commands to validate proper configuration of intermediate certificates.
OpenSSL Command for Checking Certificate Chain
openssl s_client -connect yourwebsite.com:443 -servername yourwebsite.com -showcerts
It will display all certificates in the chain.
5. Check Certificate Revocation Status
Certificates can be revoked due to compromise. Use OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) to check if your certificate is still valid.
Check via OpenSSL
openssl ocsp -issuer issuer.pem -cert cert.pem -url http://ocsp.server.com
What to Do When a Website Certificate Is Expired?
Expiring SSL certificates trigger “Your connection is not private” error messages to website visitors. Here’s what you should do:
1. Renew the SSL Certificate
Most SSL providers will send notifications about certificate renewal ahead of its expiration date. Access your provider’s dashboard through login and proceed with certificate renewal.
2. Install the New Certificate
The installation process for the renewed certificate begins after completion of the renewal. Server type determines the specific procedure which follows these steps:
Apache: Update the SSLCertificateFile and SSLCertificateKeyFile directives in your configuration.
Nginx: Replace the old certificate in the ssl_certificate directive.
cPanel: Go to SSL/TLS Manager > Install and Manage SSL and upload the new certificate.
3. Verify the Installation
Use an SSL checker tool to ensure the new certificate is active.
4. Restart the Web Server
Restart your web server to apply the new certificate:
5. Update Certificate Monitoring
Set up automated SSL monitoring using tools like Uptivol SSL monitoring checker to avoid future issues.
How to Configure SSL Certificate Monitoring
The best practice to prevent unexpected SSL expiration involves automated monitoring setup. Here are different methods:
1. A Free SSL Monitoring Tool serves as a useful solution.
Multiple services operate SSL expiration monitoring systems that generate notification alerts. Some top tools include:
Uptivol functions as a strong monitoring solution which enables users to receive SSL expiration alerts alongside server uptime monitoring and performance tracking capabilities.
Let’s Monitor (letsmonitor.org)
SSL Certificate Expiry Monitor by UptimeRobot
2. Set Up SSL Expiry Alerts with a Script
You can automate SSL monitoring using a shell script.
Example: SSL Expiry Alert Script
#!/bin/bash
domain=”yourwebsite.com”
expiry_date=$(echo | openssl s_client -servername $domain -connect $domain:443 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -enddate | cut -d= -f2)
echo “SSL Certificate for $domain expires on: $expiry_date”
Schedule this script to run daily using a cron job
3. Monitor SSL with Prometheus & Grafana
For advanced monitoring, integrate SSL checks into your observability stack.
Steps:
Install Blackbox Exporter for Prometheus.
Add SSL expiry probe:
modules:
http_2xx:
prober: http
timeout: 5s
http:
valid_http_versions: [ “HTTP/1.1”, “HTTP/2” ]
method: GET
4. Visualize expiration status in Grafana
Conclusion
Monitoring SSL certificate expiration is essential for website security and user trust. Regularly checking expiration dates, setting up alerts, and using monitoring tools like Uptivol or UptimeRobot can prevent unexpected downtime.
By following thi
s guide, you’ll be able to proactively manage SSL certificates and ensure a seamless, secure browsing experience for your users.
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