CloudFlare is kinda secure; it does get you out of the browser warning. If you’re wanting to ensure your data is not being intercepted by others, then you should have a certificate on the server.
There are tons of good hosting companies that offer free certificates, by not changing hosts you’re letting them get away with charging for them.
Even if you’re using CloudFlare for caching, I would still want to have a certificate on my server to make the SSL complete.
either cloudflare is down or something else is wrong with the site. i’ve trying since friday to get one of my sites registered, but no dice! it stops after i select the plan i want to use (mind you i tried them all…) and never goes on!!!
greetings, tomas
Do you change the DNS records at where you host the site or where the Domain is registered?
The official domain registrar.
See step 2 here:
Ok so just to clarify, the Cloudflare solves the warning on the browser but doesn’t ACTUALLY ensure that the data transmitted is secure? What’s the point of that?
The likelihood that someone is intercepting packets of traffic between CloudFlare and your server isn’t as likely to happen as between the end user and CloudFlare.
I lot more sniffing and snooping going on at the users end(WiFi, ISP) of the Internet than within the backend(server to server).
https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/200170416-What-do-the-SSL-options-mean-
But basically shared certificates do NOT mean that your site is in fact secure. What a pain in the derriere.
It’s not the “shared certificate” that makes the site secure or not. It’s the fact that the secure path only goes so far.
I recommend CloudFlare all the time, mainly for the performance boost, but I recommend folks go with a hosting company that offers Let’s Encrypt certificates for free.
I know you might have an annual contract, but I would at least let your hosting company know you going to leave them if they don’t start offering them.
Enough folks tell them that or leave and go elsewhere they’ll change or go under.
In the mean time CloudFlare SSL will be better than none.
CloudFlare also offers a origin certificate, or you can put a self signed certificate on your host. That would make the complete path secure. You would have to have access,and a bit of technical knowledge to do this.
Hi Doug, thank you so much for all of the great advice :-). I’ve already spent way too much time on this subject and can’t cope with any more techno stuff to learn so I think I’m going to recommend switching hosters over to Chillidog as he offers free SSL. Thanks again.
thanks for the kind words 
Yup I know this to be true. :-))
Except for the Chillidog server downtimes! That is always very disappointing.
I’ve got 5 or more domains with multiple subdomains on each with Chillidog and never experienced any problems whatsoever, even when Greg changed servers.
You must be really unlucky Brad as all you seem to do is complain about the poor service others offer.
Chillidog are the best! offers free SSL.
Sorry you’re having connection issues. To be honest, I’m not sure what downtime you’re referring to. Since I started this status page at the end of March, the shared server has registered 3 minutes of downtime. If anyone has connection issues to my server, I ask them to reach out. I’m more than happy to help investigate.
-Greg
That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
I have two hosting companies at the moment. One (A2 Hosting) offers free SSL and the other (Idaq) doesn’t. I don’t like to pay for it but I’ve been with Idaq for several decades and they’ve given me a very good service so I’m no going to dump them. I can live with an extra £30 a year. However, I did leave UK2 which I’d been with for even longer. They started charging for standard mail accounts AND they charged for SSL. I had over 20 domains with them and I just couldn’t afford it.
Bradf1405 do you not mind that your sites aren’t so secure using Cloudflare alone?
Bewarned they are SELF SIGNED SSL certificates. Never as good as the paid ones.