SSL/TLS Certificate Monitoring

Never let an SSL certificate expire and lose your visitors' trust.

An expired SSL certificate is a disaster for any website. Browsers display a scary security warning that drives away visitors, e-commerce transactions are blocked, and Google penalizes your rankings. Yet this situation is completely preventable with proactive monitoring.

MoniTao automatically monitors your SSL certificate expiration dates during each HTTP check. You receive progressive alerts at 30, 14, and 7 days before expiration, giving you plenty of time to renew or fix a failing automatic process.

Whether you use Let's Encrypt with automatic renewal or commercial certificates, MoniTao detects problems before they impact your visitors. It's essential peace of mind for any professional website.

Why SSL Monitoring is Critical

An expired or misconfigured SSL certificate has immediate and severe consequences:

  • Loss of visitors: the "Connection not secure" warning drives away 85% of visitors. They won't trust a site that can't maintain its certificate.
  • Blocked transactions: impossible to process payments without valid HTTPS. An expired certificate can completely paralyze an e-commerce site.
  • SEO impact: Google penalizes sites without valid HTTPS and shows warnings in search results. Your rankings can drop drastically.
  • Failed automatic renewal: Let's Encrypt expires every 90 days. If automatic renewal fails silently, you won't know until expiration.

Types of SSL Certificates to Monitor

MoniTao monitors all types of SSL/TLS certificates:

  • Let's Encrypt: free certificates that expire every 90 days. Automatic renewal can fail without warning.
  • DV (Domain Validation) certificates: simple domain validation, typical 1-year expiration. Reminder emails sometimes end up in spam.
  • OV/EV (Organization/Extended) certificates: enterprise certificates with longer renewal processes. Advance planning needed.
  • Wildcard certificates: cover all subdomains (*.domain.com). A single certificate to monitor for the entire domain.

Detailed Guides

Explore our guides for each SSL situation:

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SSL expiration alerts

Set up automatic alerts before expiration.
🆘

SSL certificate expired: what to do

Urgent actions if your certificate has already expired.

SSL Verification via Command Line

Here's how to manually check a certificate's expiration date:

# Check SSL certificate expiration date
openssl s_client -connect mysite.com:443 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -dates

# Typical result:
notBefore=Jan 15 00:00:00 2024 GMT
notAfter=Apr 15 23:59:59 2024 GMT

# Check complete certificate details
echo | openssl s_client -servername mysite.com -connect mysite.com:443 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -text

# Recommended MoniTao configuration
- Enable SSL monitoring on all HTTPS monitors
- Alerts at 30, 14, and 7 days before expiration
- Include critical subdomains

These commands are useful for occasional diagnostics, but MoniTao automates this monitoring continuously. With each HTTP check, the certificate is inspected and you're alerted if expiration approaches.

SSL Monitoring Features

MoniTao offers complete and automatic SSL monitoring:

  • Automatic monitoring: every HTTPS monitor automatically monitors the certificate. No additional configuration required.
  • Progressive alerts: notifications at 30, 14, and 7 days before expiration. Plenty of time to act calmly.
  • Chain problem detection: verifies that the certificate chain is complete. Detects missing intermediate certificates.
  • Universal support: Let's Encrypt, DigiCert, Comodo, self-signed certificates... all issuers are supported.

SSL Monitoring Checklist

  • Create an HTTPS monitor for each domain/subdomain
  • Verify that SSL alerts are enabled
  • Configure alert delays (30d, 14d, 7d)
  • Test the Let's Encrypt renewal process
  • Document the manual renewal procedure
  • Have a backup certificate or emergency procedure

Frequently Asked Questions - SSL Monitoring

Is SSL monitoring automatic?

Yes, every HTTPS monitor automatically monitors the associated SSL certificate. You don't need to configure anything extra: as soon as you create a monitor on an HTTPS URL, SSL monitoring is active.

When are expiration alerts sent?

By default, MoniTao sends alerts at 30, 14, and 7 days before certificate expiration. You can customize these delays according to your needs and renewal process.

Are Let's Encrypt certificates supported?

Yes, and it's particularly useful since Let's Encrypt expires every 90 days. MoniTao detects if automatic renewal has failed before the certificate expires.

Can I monitor wildcard certificates?

Yes, create monitors for each subdomain you use. MoniTao will verify that the wildcard certificate is valid for each of them.

Does MoniTao detect certificate chain problems?

Yes, MoniTao verifies that the certificate chain is complete and valid. A missing intermediate certificate causes errors in some browsers, and MoniTao will alert you.

Can I monitor self-signed certificates?

Yes, MoniTao can monitor self-signed certificates used in development or intranet environments. The expiration date will be tracked like any other certificate.

Never Let a Certificate Expire Again

An expired SSL certificate is one of the most preventable yet costly errors for a website. Automatic monitoring with MoniTao eliminates this risk by alerting you well in advance, whether you use Let's Encrypt or commercial certificates.

Enable SSL monitoring on all your HTTPS monitors now. It's free and automatic. You'll be alerted before any expiration and can act calmly without ever showing a security warning to your visitors.

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