{
  "id": 7471790,
  "title": "There are three different things people mean by \"check my SSL cert\"",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/there-are-three-different-things-people-mean-by-check-my-ssl-cert",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-15T04:18:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/timmkal01/there-are-three-different-things-people-mean-by-check-my-ssl-cert-4foo"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "When people talk about \"check my SSL cert\", they are usually referring to one of three different tasks. The first involves verifying that a domain registration or new certificate hasn't expired, which is a WHOIS/RDAP question. The second task is about a certificate transparency log question, checking if a newly issued certificate for the domain has been recorded in a public append-only record. The third and most critical task is to confirm the live TLS handshake with the server, determining how many days remain until the currently presented certificate expires. It is this third task that often causes a system outage when the answer is zero. To accomplish this, a tool opens a direct TLS connection to each host, reads the certificate the server presents, and reports details such as issuer, subject, valid dates, days until expiry, and whether the cert is expired or self-signed. This process allows for accurate tracking of live SSL certificates, preventing similar outages in the future.",
  "summary": "A cert expiring in production is one of those outages that feels avoidable in hindsight. Nobody meant to skip it. It just wasn't anyone's job to check. The confusing part \"Check my SSL cert\" can mean three different things, and they check three different systems. Is the domain registration itself about to expire? That's a WHOIS/RDAP question, nothing to do with TLS. Has a new certificate been…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}