Blogging

London Capital Ring Section 9

dips

I have always wanted to walk the London Capital ring but always kept putting it off. Mostly due to not having anyone to walk it with.

Anyway, one day last year, I came across a Meetup Group that was planning on doing the walk and I thought, why not? So I signed up, headed over to Woolwich Arsenal at the very beginning of Section 1 and as they say, the rest is history.

It is almost a year since we started walking the London Capital Ring and we completed Section 9 last weekend (24/07/2016). Section 9 starts at Greenford and finishes at South Kenton with a distance on 5.5 miles (8.8km). Each section is unique and there quite a few sights that can be seen at each section.

Much to the chagrin of one of the walkers, Pokemon Go had just recently been released and some of us were going to try and catch some. I forgot to verify my email address when I signed up so it was a no go for me. However, as I write this, it seems that the novelty has worn off and the media outlets no longer report on it. Pokemon Go feels like the unpolished version of Ingress but that is a topic of another day.

We started off at Greenford and everything was going OK on the walk until we reached a bridge. As there was no sign, we thought we would carry on. However, we soon had to turn back as we were heading in the wrong direction. In hindsight, this was probably a sign as we hod to do this a few times to retrace our steps. This section was probably one of the worst with regards to signs. There were parts where there were no signs at all and other parts where we counted 6 for a road crossing! There is also a Gruffalo trail at the top of Horsenden Hill. That was a nice little surprise.

Horsenden Hill is quite steep but once at the top, the views are wonderful. Again, there was a slight confusion in which direction we needed to head as there were no signs. In the end we ended up taking the wrong path but eventually worked our way back to the main path.

We also missed the turning after Sudbury Hill Harrow train station and had to backtrack again. No Capital Ring sign here.

After this it was pretty much plain sailing. My favourite bit was Harrow On the Hill. It is very picturesque, the building from another era but very well maintained. There was a small market on Sunday selling various foodstuffs. I got myself and Mushroom and Cheese pasty. It was absolutely wonderful.

Next, through Harrow School. Again, absolutely wonderful. You have to see it. They had a field as far as the eye could see. Just before we came to the end of the field, there was a little wooden plaque with some letters and numbers. A code perhaps? Will post some pictures up when I fix my Media Uploader. It seems to have broken completely.

Next, onto Northwick Park walking past Northwick Park Hospital and onto the main part of the part a left turn and we arrived at South Kenton. Near South Kenton there is a pub called the The Windermere Pub (http://windermerepub.com/). On the day we visited, the were doing some filming. Think it was something to do with Art as there were a large number of paintings and staff from the Barbican were there.

For this section, some sights that we came across included the following:

  • The Grand Union Canal
  • Horsenden Hill
  • Harrow School

We shall be attempting Section 10 pretty soon. Pictures to follow once I fix the uploader.

Section 9 info: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/greenford-to-south-kenton

More info on the Capital Ring can be found on the TFL website: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/capital-ring

 

Setting up SSL using CPanel and Let’s Encrypt

dips

I have been meaning to update this site to use SSL for a while now.

Why SSL? – Quick answer: Security and Encryption. Any web traffic to an SSL enabled site ensures that the traffic is encrypted and information is transmitted securely.

Anyway, here is a quick guide to enabling SSL using a certificate generated from Let’s Encrypt.

Step 1:

Login to CPanel and head over to the SSL / TLS section.

SSL

Step 2:

If you do not already have one, create a Private Key. Make sure you keep this secure.

  • Key Size: 2048 bits

“A private key is used to decrypt information transmitted over SSL. When you create an SSL certificate, the first step is to generate a private key file associated with that SSL certificate. You should generate a private key for each SSL certificate you create. This private key is very important and should be kept confidential. A copy of each private key should be kept in a safe place; there is no way to recover a lost private key.”

Step 3:

One the Private Key has been generated, create a Certificate Signing Request (CSR). This is what is used to request a Certificate from a Trusted Certificate Authority.

“If you obtain a certificate from a trusted SSL provider, you must complete the Certificate Signing Request form to provide the information needed to generate your SSL certificate. ”

Step 4:

Head over to https://zerossl.com/ and use the Free SSL Certification Wizard. This simplifies the process of requesting a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt.

Include the following information:

  • Email address for certificate expiration reminders.
  • If using Let’s Encrypt for the first time, leave the section for the ‘Let’s Encrypt’ key blank. One will be generated for you.
  • Finally paste the CSR created in Step 3 in the CSR section and proceed.
  • Note: Let’s Encrypt certificates are only valid for 90 days.
  • Also, keep a copy of the generated ‘Let’s Encrypt’ key that has been generated. This will be required when renewing the certificate.

Step 5:

Once a request has been made, it will need to be verified. This is done so Let’s Encrypt can ensure that the certificate being generated for the domain is under your control. This helps prevent MitM attacks. You don’t want anyone coming and generating certificates for your domain.

Verification is made by creating a file with some text at the root of your domain or by editing DNS entries. It depends on whichever method you prefer.

“The “Verification” screen

This screen does not require you to enter anything. It shows what needs to be done to prove your domain ownership. If you are using HTTP verification, then for each domain on your certificate you will be given a name and the content of the file to be created. Each name is also a link, so after you have created a file, you can click that link to make sure that the file is actually accessible and the content of it is what it should be. If you are using DNS verification, then you will be given a name for the DNS TXT record and its value. It will also show you how to check that your DNS changes became “visible”.

After creating a file or making DNS changes (and making sure those are visible) you can click “Next”. If everything is done right, you will be moved to the final screen (“Certificate”). If any error happens, then you will see verification results for those domains which have failed verification. After reading the results, click “Next” for the “Verification” screen to be displayed again with the new values for the domains which have failed. There will be no need to re-do those domains on your list which have succeeeded [sic] verification.”

Step 6:

Once successfully verified, a free SSL certificate is generated. Copy the CSR key and head back to CPanel and upload it into the Certificates (CRT) Section. If everything has gone smoothly, it will be uploaded without any issues. Check the ‘decoded’ section to ensure everything looks correct.

Step 7:

Finally, we are ready to apply the SSL certificate. Head on over to the, ‘Install and Manage SSL for your site (HTTPS)’ section and under the ‘Install an SSL Website’ click the ‘Browse Certificates’ button. A pop up window will display the uploaded certificate. Select this.

Step 8:

This will automatically match the domain and certificate info. Save changes are you are ready to go!

Resources:

  1. https://letsencrypt.org/ – Let’s Encrypt
  2. https://zerossl.com/ – ZeroSSL
  3. https://documentation.cpanel.net/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1507527 – CPanel  SSL/TLS section documentation
  4. https://www.sslshopper.com/what-is-ssl.html – What is SSL?