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Tech Issue Was EC offline this weekend, and now not secure?

Discussion in 'Empty Closets Help and Feedback' started by DecentOne, Nov 16, 2020.

  1. DecentOne

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    Is it just me, or did EC's forum go inaccessible for part of this past weekend? It could not be found by my browser.

    Now I can sign in, but on one device it says it is "not secure" and boots me off after each thread I've opened. I'm trying a different device to post this.
     
  2. jessie19

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    Double check your browser updates and maybe clear your browsers cache, the certificate is valid until 16 Nov 2021, so it could be your browser not supporting the correct certificate or that its stuck on the expired one which just needs a clean cache or DNS
     
  3. DecentOne

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    Thanks for the tips jessie19,
    I rebooted, which is supposed to clear DNS. Cleared history and cookies too. Also did an update, which led to another reboot. No matter which browser I use on that device, it does not stay logged in to EC and says it is not secure. This is the third time I've tried with a response, but this time I'm getting it to work from the other device.
     
  4. Vega222

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    It was inaccessible for me for hours too. It was yesterday I think.
    Not that "not secure" thing. It was like it was down.
     
  5. TJ

    TJ
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    Hi everyone,
    Thanks for asking about the downtime and to those who chimed in about it. We did have some unexpected downtime yesterday, but that issue has *crosses fingers* been remedied.
    We are having some intermittent issues with use of the forums (failure to post, inability to login), but they seem to be better now.

    If you are having issues, please let us know specifically what issues you are having.
    It also may help to clear your browser data and cache, as these can sometimes cause websites to have issues.
     
  6. Chip

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    We changed web hosts a couple of weeks ago. In connection with that, over the weekend we made a configuration change at our caching provider, which inadvertently took the forum offline (incompatibility in configuration between the caching provider and the host.) These sorts of changes always take a couple of hours to propagate through the internet, so we were not able to even see that there was a problem for several hours, and then it took a bit of time to figure out where the problems was.

    I notice we still have an issue with the security certificate on the front end of the site. But there's no way to enter any content there, so it really doesn't pose much of a security issue. We should have that fixed within the next day or so. Everything else should be back to normal.
     
  7. johndeere3020

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    Created a post just now, would not let me post it. Wanted me to log in and then come up with a error page about sharing personal information, which there was none. When I got back to the post it was gone. Should a person create on Word then copy it to a post for the time being if there are issues?
    Thanks
    Dean
     
    #7 johndeere3020, Nov 17, 2020
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2020
  8. TJ

    TJ
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    Thanks for reporting this. Please let us know when more of these issues happen so that we can work with our providers to remedy it.
    In the meantime, it may be safer to write posts somewhere else (like Microsoft Word or Google Docs) so that you have a backup when you attempt to post.

    Are you using the mobile or the desktop version of EC?
     
  9. Chip

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    Usually, but not always, this is a byproduct of corrupt cookies or a caching problem. Since we are not seeing multiple reports of that issue, it's most likely what's going on here. You can try clearing your cookies for EC and clearing your browser cache. That often solves the issue.
     
  10. johndeere3020

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    TJ, it is a Dell desktop, Chip I will do as you suggest.
    Thanks Guys
    Dean
     
  11. DecentOne

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    My MacOS laptop is now experiencing the same issues as my iPad.

    I completely wiped all network info from my iPad (now it forgot my WiFi when I dropped in at the office), and cookies, etc.

    I've unplugged and then rebooted my cable modem and my WiFi router at home.

    Something changed about EC. I'm not having these issues of being signed out randomly by any other forums or websites I've tried.
     
  12. Chip

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    Something definitely did change about EC. As I said above, we did make a change with our caching provider. That, in turn, caused some incompatibility between secure (https:slight_smile: and insecure (http:slight_smile: pages. And sometimes that can cause the login-logout errors you are seeing.

    That is mostly fixed now, with the exception of forcing all non-secure requests to be redirected to secure pages, which should be done probably today.
     
  13. DecentOne

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    Bingo! Thanks for the work on the site. It is working today the way it always used to. It is even letting me post this from my iPad.
     
  14. DecentOne

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    The way I got to the secure version of the forum on my tablet was by typing “https://“ before typing forum.emptyclosets.com. Works fine that way.

    If I type forum.emptyclosets.com into my browser it says “not secure”. It didn’t used to do that.

    It just means more typing for me. Yeah, I know I could bookmark it, but then the bookmark shows up on my tablet screen whenever I open a new tab and I’m careful not to show it.
     
  15. Chip

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    Hmmm. That should not be happening. In the very brief tests I just did, typing http://emptyclosets.com (with or without the leading "www"), in all cases, the server forces https:// and the resulting page is secure.
    I also just checked our caching provider, and we are not configured to deliver any insecure pages, so in theory at least, it should not be happening.

    You might try clearing cache and cookies and trying again.
     
  16. DecentOne

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    Hi Chip,
    I’ve definitely cleared cookies, history, etc.
    forum.emptyclosets.com in my search bar results in “not secure”
    Https://forum.emptyclosets.com gets me in without a warning. I may still get kicked out later, after reading a thread.