Major error on my part - switched to https & now can't login

[words2010]

I hope that someone can help. I made the major mistake a couple days ago and switched my login from http to https while in Serendipity Admin after posting and changing some stuff, without realizing the consequences -- i.e., I have no SSL certificate and have no intention of configuring my website to have https. I was in Serendipity when I made the change and just wasn't thinking. The next day, I found the following error when trying to login:

SSL received a record that exceeded the maximum permissible length.

(Error code: ssl_error_rx_record_too_long)

* The page you are trying to view can not be shown because the authenticity of the received data could not be verified.

* Please contact the web site owners to inform them of this problem. Alternatively, use the command found in the help menu to report this broken site.

So, I did an online search of how to change https back to http. I thought it would be simple, but when I go through the code in index.php, it's not so simple at all. Via my hosting service (GigaPros & cPanel) and I find the following error codes:

2010-07-09 13:25:43.314 [INFO] [HTAccess] Updating configuration from [/home/unfinish/public_html/wordsandunwords.com/.htaccess]
2010-07-09 13:15:08.529 [INFO] [71.112.8.67:50017-2#APVH_wordsandunwords.unfinishedpolis.com] File not found [/home/unfinish/public_html/wordsandunwords.com/404.shtml]

Any ideas? Note: I've only had my Serendipity blog for a couple of weeks and was trying out things. I do not have a backup of data or files -- yes, lesson learned, the hard way. I'm just trying to get back into my Serendipity blog so that I can post, if at all possible. I've tried fiddling around with index.php by changing from "on" to "off" where there is HTTPS code, but nothing works.

Very much a beginner when it comes to being a weblog administrator.

-Words

[kleinerChemiker]

Changing the index.php is no good idea because it won't cange the configuration settings.

Log into your db, there should b a table called something like serendipity_config. In this table are all the configuration settings. Search for ssl, than you should find the right settng to hange to off.

[garvinhicking]

Hi!

Also, you should be able to log into s9y properly when you simply use http:// instead of https:// -- the actual usage of https-style links is only done in some of the HTML nugget / login plugins, but if you call it up without https, it should basically work for the core things.

The proper config option to disable ssl would be to edit your "baseURL" setting to http:// again.

HTH,
Garvin

[words2010]

Hi!

I've been trying for a while in the serendipity_config.inc.php file, and I haven't been able to find ssl anywhere in the code.

I tried a couple of modifications:

line 182-183 in file serendipity_config.inc.php

header('Location: ' . (strtolower($_SERVER['HTTPS']) == 'on' ? 'https://' : 'http://') . $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] . str_replace('\\', '/', dirname($_SERVER['PHP_SELF'])) . '/serendipity_admin.php');
serendipity_die(sprintf(SERENDIPITY_NOT_INSTALLED, 'serendipity_admin.php'));
}
[switched 'on' to 'off']

line 281 - 285:
if ( (isset($serendipity['autodetect_baseURL']) && serendipity_db_bool($serendipity['autodetect_baseURL'])) ||
(isset($serendipity['embed']) && serendipity_db_bool($serendipity['embed'])) ) {
$serendipity['baseURL'] = 'http' . (isset($_SERVER['HTTPS']) && strtolower($_SERVER['HTTPS']) == 'on' ? 's' : '') . '://' . $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] . (!strstr($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'], ':') && !empty($_SERVER['SERVER_PORT']) && $_SERVER['SERVER_PORT'] != '80' ? ':' . $_SERVER['SERVER_PORT'] : '') . $serendipity['serendipityHTTPPath'];
}
/*
[switched 'on' to 'off']

I still could not log on to the "Open Admin" site under website http://www.wordsandunwords.com, even after both changes. I get the same error message before any code changes. I've included my serendipity_config.inc.php file if you'd like to take a look. I don't know what I'm missing, but I'm too much of a beginner to the html/css/php world to know what makes sense and what does not.

Typing in http://www.wordsandunwords.com into the URL browser does not help, because as soon as I go to "Open Admin" on the blog, https immediately pops up. What am I missing?

[garvinhicking]

Hi!

Did you use phpMyAdmin to change the 'baseURL' setting in the serendipity_config DATABASE-Table?

No changes in the file you are editing are necessary.

Typing in http://www.wordsandunwords.com into the URL browser does not help, because as soon as I go to "Open Admin" on the blog, https immediately pops up. What am I missing?

That's why you should immediately call http://www.wordsandunwords.com/serendipity_admin.php to log in...

Regards,
Garvin

[words2010]

Garvin,

I wasn't able to access the forums recently (am in the US), but many thanks for all your support and clear instructions. I was able to login and change the option in the module accordingly. I'm still trying to learn how to use Serendipity.

FYI. If you ever need scientific/geek humor gifts, just go to http://www.wordsandunwords.com