Let's Encrypt - Free SSL Certificates - Just Do It!

[jeffreylees]

Here’s a good overview piece by SP Ambassador Marc Towler on the subject:
https://www.marctowler.co.uk/using-lets-encrypt.html

and a link to our conversation, briefly, about the subject when it was in infancy:

Let's Encrypt

I was rather excited to read about the new Let’s Encrypt certificate authority today. It’s going to make SSL/TLS a realistic option for the rest of us, it seems. Here’s an article about it: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/11/certificate-authority-encrypt-entire-web Apart from the typically US myopic “summer of 2015” launch prediction (whose summer, where?) it’s a rather impressive effort.

If you aren’t reading above, Let’s Encrypt is a service that provides free SSL certificates to anyone. They have plugins for servers that work with Apache and Nginx, and you can basically run an auto installer package to make it much simpler for people to implement.

So, we have Let’s encrypt available, now. What does everyone think about it? How can we get people to use it? Will there be other providers who do the same thing? What does this mean for the future of paid certificates? Does this cheapen the value of certificates, in anyone’s minds?

Edit: Here, of course, is the link to the actual service: https://letsencrypt.org/

[mawburn]

[cpradio]

I’ve actually implemented it a few of my sandboxes. I found it to be very easy to implement.

I actually like the idea. I don’t know what I’d use it for a Production box though. I’d probably go the route of a typical SSL for Production boxes, but that’s purely my opinion. However, I also have been of the opinion that the typical SSL route is too expensive and that having someone like letsencrypt come in and shake things up, seems like a really good idea…