How to Get Free HTTPS Certificates from Let's Encrypt

Authors

  • Mike Robinson

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5860/jifp.v2i1.6248

Abstract

There has been a push by many organizations in recent years to move all websites from non-secure HTTP to the more secure HTTPS protocol. Let's Encrypt is a new certificate authority that provides both free HTTPS certificates and tools to easily install them.  Let's Encrypt can be easily installed on a variety of library servers.  Vendors and content providers in the library world should begin integrating support for Let's Encrypt into their products and services.

Author Biography

Mike Robinson

Michael Robinson is Chair of the ALA's Intellectual Freedom Privacy Subcommittee and Head of Systems at the Consortium Library at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He has worked with technology in academic, public, and special libraries and is keenly interested how libraries use technology to provide access to information and services to users.

References

Encrypting the Web

https://www.eff.org/encrypt-the-web

Let’s Encrypt

https://letsencrypt.org/

Let’s Encrypt 2016 In Review by Josh Aas. Let’s Encrypt Blog. Jan 6, 2017

https://letsencrypt.org/2017/01/06/le-2016-in-review.html

Let's Encrypt Cookbook for Library Servers

https://consortiumlibrary.org/blogs/mcrobinson/blog/2016/06/13/lets-encrypt-cookbook/

Library Digital Privacy Pledge

https://libraryfreedomproject.org/ourwork/digitalprivacypledge/

Protecting Patron Privacy: Libraries are failing to use HTTPS by Marshall Breeding. American Libraries Magazine. May 31, 2016

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/05/31/protecting-patron-privacy/

Secure the News

https://securethe.news/

Web Hosting Providers with Let's Encrypt Support

https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/web-hosting-who-support-lets-encrypt/6920

Downloads

Published

2017-07-07

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2017): Spring

Section

Commentaries