SSL email - certificate error

[farzal]

I just configured my outlook with SSL settings for bluehost, and although the setting work, I got a certification expiry or related error (usually received on websites whole SSL naming information doesn't match, or certificate has expired).

Isn't this weird and slightly unsecure for a hosting company? what can I do if anything?

[Early Out]

This is a common problem with shared hosting. There is nothing wrong with the BH certificate. The problem is that Outlook knows that your mail server is mail.yourdomain.com. But the SSL certificate is shared, so it reflects the bluehost.com name, not yourdomain.com. Outlook interprets this as a problem, and warns you about it, every time you launch Outlook and try to connect.

There isn't much you can do about it. I just quit trying to use SSL with Outlook, instead of having to say "OK" every time. Other email client programs can be told to ignore the name mismatch, and won't bug you about it.

[sXi]

I haven't used Outlook for... centuries! but I remember you could browse with Internet Explorer to get that certificate popup then hit view certificate to get into some installation options.

Basically you want to View Certificate, Install Certificate, and Browse then Save to the Trusted Root Certification Authorities folder. At least it worked 'way back when' but might be worth taking a poke at it to avoid those annoying popups.

[farzal]

actually, the SSL instructions advice me to use the actual box, so I am using box###.bluehost.com as pop and smtp.

the certificate error isn't popping repeatedly, outlook takes care of that. so my question wasn't from user-friendly perspective, but from security.

[breakingball]

Early Out is correct (as expected ;)); however, I recently (last month) had a similar issue with an SSL cert that had expired which was causing me issues. Two Live Chats and a phone call with Level 1 techs told me the same thing: They saw a cert that doesn't expire until 2034. Maybe ten days later, I received an email from a Level 3 tech that said,

Thanks for the heads up! The SSL certificate for the server that hosts your account has been re-signed. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.

What I gather is that there are multiple certs assigned to each box and if your mail client is telling you that one is expired, then you should follow up with BH Support to get it re-signed.

[Early Out]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised - keeping the certs up-to-date is often low on the priority list for the tech guys. I've seen expired certs even on major ISPs (like mine, Comcast).

Thanks for the info, breakingball.