Want to make your Moodle site more secure without using an expensive and complicated certificate? Find out how.

1. How To Encrypt and Protect your
Moodle Site for Free
Jonathan Moore
● http://elearningconsultancy.com
● jonathan@elearningconsultancy.com
● Twitter: @moorejon
● Skype: moorejon07

2. What is Let's Encrypt?
● A new certificate authority
● Offering free Secure Sockets Layer /
Transport Layer Security (SSL / TSL)
certificates
● Automate process to simplify installation

3. What you need
● A domain you control
● Admin access to server hosting the domain
● Some comfort with command line
● Desire to improve your site's security

4. Why encrypt?
● Protect user's login credentials
● Protect confidential information stored on your
site
● Help improve the internet's herd immunity
● Browser makers gradually making this the
default for 'safe' access indicators
● More difficult for ISPs / carriers interfere with
usability of your site

5. Warning!
● Do you have a good backup
● This can damage your configuration files

6. Get the client
● https://certbot.eff.org/

7. Installation

8. Usage

9. Renewals

10. Moodle Setup
● Site Administration → Security → HTTP
Security

11. To Fully Encrypted Site
● Edit config.php
– Change $CFG->wwwroot
● From http://
● To https://

12. Re-write old URLs on Existing Sites
● http://my_domain/moodle31/admin/tool/replace/

13. Compatibility
● Works with most current browsers
● Will improve over time

14. Compatibility list

15. More compatibility

16. Non-working / Unknown

17. Test it
● Early days for Let's Encrypt
● Try first on staging or pilot site