How to Secure Your Facebook Fan Page Apps
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If you've got a custom Facebook fan page welcome tab running in an iFrame, there are some changes coming up on Facebook that you need to be aware of or else your content will disappear from your visitors view. On October 1, 2011, Facebook will be requiring that all fan pages with custom iFrame apps be secured with a SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate.
This certificate simply shows that the site's security has been verified by a trusted 3rd party source. Take a look up at the URL of the Facebook page that you are browsing. Does it begin with http://? If so, then you are browsing in an un-secure mode. Having content hosted on secure servers and browsing Facebook in secure https mode protects your account from being hacked.
Browse Facebook securely
To browse Facebook in secure mode, go to 'Account Settings,' and then click the 'Security,' link on the left side of the page. 'Secure Browsing' is the first option on the list. Click the 'Edit,' button to enable secured browsing. Now when you are using Facebook you will use a secure connection whenever possible.
SSL Certificates
There are two different kinds of SSL Certificates: 1. Shared or variable certificate. Those who have a shared hosting account will most likely have a shared certificate, and 2. Private or static SSL certificates, which you can purchase for your domain when you have a dedicated server hosting package.
You can get a SSL certificate from your web host. If you are on a shared hosting plan that you purchased from a reseller, your SSL certificate will most often be free. You can purchase a private SSL certificate for your dedicated server. Your hosting company probably offers one or can refer you to where you can get one.
After October 1st, when Facebook makes the switch, all content that is being brought in to Facebook that is being hosted on servers outside of Facebook, must be hosted on a server with a Secure Socket Layer Certificate. It is your responsibility to secure your custom fan page apps so that your content will not disappear and instead display an error message for your visitors.
Securing your fan page apps in Facebook
Here's an example of how you would set up your shared SSL if your site is hosted with Hostgator. For other hosting companies you can contact support and find out how they configure their shared SSL certificates.
Follow these instructions:
http://support.hostgator.com/articles/ssl-certificates/ssl-setup-use/how-to-set-up-and-use-your-shared-ssl
and then add the new, secure URL you have created to Facebook.
You'll know your custom iFrame tab is not configured for https when you get this error message on the page:
Please Update Your Secure Tab URL
To make sure users can view your app over a secure browser connection (https), please visit the developer console to update your Secure Tab URL.
'Update secure URL' 'Temporarily turn off HTTPS'
Click on, 'Update secure URL' and update both the, 'Secure canvas URL,' and the 'Secure page tab URL' using the new secure URL you just configured.
Or you can log in to your Facebook account, go to https://developers.facebook.com and click on, 'Apps.' Find the app for your fan page and click on the 'Edit settings,' button. Update the secure canvas URL and the secure page tab URL.
Following the instructions above make sure secure browsing is turned on in your Facebook profile and then go back to your fan page to make sure that everything shows up properly.
For more information about social media marketing, visit, http://mcreasite.com/blog to discover how you can grow your online business today.
This certificate simply shows that the site's security has been verified by a trusted 3rd party source. Take a look up at the URL of the Facebook page that you are browsing. Does it begin with http://? If so, then you are browsing in an un-secure mode. Having content hosted on secure servers and browsing Facebook in secure https mode protects your account from being hacked.
Browse Facebook securely
To browse Facebook in secure mode, go to 'Account Settings,' and then click the 'Security,' link on the left side of the page. 'Secure Browsing' is the first option on the list. Click the 'Edit,' button to enable secured browsing. Now when you are using Facebook you will use a secure connection whenever possible.
SSL Certificates
There are two different kinds of SSL Certificates: 1. Shared or variable certificate. Those who have a shared hosting account will most likely have a shared certificate, and 2. Private or static SSL certificates, which you can purchase for your domain when you have a dedicated server hosting package.
You can get a SSL certificate from your web host. If you are on a shared hosting plan that you purchased from a reseller, your SSL certificate will most often be free. You can purchase a private SSL certificate for your dedicated server. Your hosting company probably offers one or can refer you to where you can get one.
After October 1st, when Facebook makes the switch, all content that is being brought in to Facebook that is being hosted on servers outside of Facebook, must be hosted on a server with a Secure Socket Layer Certificate. It is your responsibility to secure your custom fan page apps so that your content will not disappear and instead display an error message for your visitors.
Securing your fan page apps in Facebook
Here's an example of how you would set up your shared SSL if your site is hosted with Hostgator. For other hosting companies you can contact support and find out how they configure their shared SSL certificates.
Follow these instructions:
http://support.hostgator.com/articles/ssl-certificates/ssl-setup-use/how-to-set-up-and-use-your-shared-ssl
and then add the new, secure URL you have created to Facebook.
You'll know your custom iFrame tab is not configured for https when you get this error message on the page:
Please Update Your Secure Tab URL
To make sure users can view your app over a secure browser connection (https), please visit the developer console to update your Secure Tab URL.
'Update secure URL' 'Temporarily turn off HTTPS'
Click on, 'Update secure URL' and update both the, 'Secure canvas URL,' and the 'Secure page tab URL' using the new secure URL you just configured.
Or you can log in to your Facebook account, go to https://developers.facebook.com and click on, 'Apps.' Find the app for your fan page and click on the 'Edit settings,' button. Update the secure canvas URL and the secure page tab URL.
Following the instructions above make sure secure browsing is turned on in your Facebook profile and then go back to your fan page to make sure that everything shows up properly.
For more information about social media marketing, visit, http://mcreasite.com/blog to discover how you can grow your online business today.