It’s quite a journey to write this post, considering the changes my blog has undergone recently. Unfortunately, these changes weren’t by choice. I had some unexpected learning experiences with WAMP when my ISP suddenly switched my public IP address, putting me behind a CGNAT last week.
After resolving that issue, I realized it was time for an upgrade to WAMP. However, in the process, I managed to mess up my old blog. To make matters worse, I didn’t have a backup to restore my previous posts (search engine cache only got me so far). It’s a mistake I’m regretting, but I’m choosing to focus on the positives of this situation.
Once I accepted that my old blog was lost, I decided to perform a complete removal of WAMP and install its new version. This process served as a refresher for my knowledge of Apache, MariaDB, PHP, and SSL, which had become rusty since my initial setup a couple of years ago.
While configuring through AMP, I gained a deeper understanding of how Apache utilizes virtual hosts for setting up separate websites. Installing the Let’s Encrypt SSL further clarified how Apache handles its SSL engine once enabled. I sought guidance on StackOverflow, which boosted my confidence in working with Apache.
Previously, I had implemented Cloudflare, but utilizing the WIN-ACME tool with the CloudFlare plugin simplified the creation and validation of an SSL certificate. Additionally, I discovered and experimented with more tools within Cloudflare that I had previously overlooked.
The satisfaction I felt when I refreshed the page and saw my new blog loading, with the lock icon indicating a secure connection (HTTPS), made all the effort worthwhile. Moving forward, I’ll continue blogging about topics that interest me (mostly tech-related stuff), along with occasional posts about significant life events.
BACKUPS ENABLED this time!