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Step 5 of Building a Website: Set up SiteLock

SiteLock is the app that BlueHost basically insists you buy—and which you should buy. It will protect your website from bad people. Once you assent to purchasing SiteLock, the program does some automatic setup. But this is not all you have to do. You will get an email asking you to finish the SiteLock setup. It looks something like this:

SiteLock email with more instructions
Figure 1: SiteLock Email Notice

I followed these instructions and did all they asked but when I went to the SiteLock site, I was still getting this notice: “Your website is not fully protected. Click here to complete your setup.”

SiteLock message--Click here to complete setup
Figure 2: SiteLock problem message

SiteLock: Your Website Is Not Fully Protected

So I clicked on the “here” and tried to work my way through the items listed as needing set up.

SiteLock Three steps to DNS records modification
Figure 3: SiteLock DNS Zone changes to be made

Step 1: Verify your domain

This is only required if you use an SSL certificate, which I do not have right now.

SiteLock message-verify your domain
Figure 4: SiteLock Item 1

Step 2: Change you’re A Record(s) and CNAME in your DNS records

SiteLock could tell that my domain is hosted by BlueHost and gave me instructions specific to BlueHost. Unfortunately, the link to the instructions was broken. I contacted SiteLock and Dexter from SiteLock got back to me quickly and promised to fix the broken link, which was done.  Dexter also offered to set up my site for me, but I declined as I wanted to try it for myself so I would know what was going on.

The instructions SiteLock provided were still a little unclear, but I managed to do it right. I know this because Dexter had to check for me and fix a bug on their end (something got hung up somewhere and I was still getting the “website not fully protected” message).

The instructions SiteLock give you begin with this:

1. Log in to your cPanel.

2. Under the Domains section, click “DNS Zone Editor.”

SiteLock Instructions 1
Figure 5: BlueHost DNS Zone Editor button

When you click DNS Zone Editor, you get this screen (with the real data blotted out or changed):

BlueHost DNS Zone Editor
Figure 6: BlueHost DNS Zone Editor screen

To help you understand what information from your SiteLock site goes in the DNS Zone editor, I have created some infographics which follow

In the SiteLock site, you will see the following information. I have labeled the pieces of information with alphabetic markers.

SiteLock Change CNAME and A Record
Figure 7: SiteLock A Record and CNAME information labeled with alphabetic markers

Steps 3 and 4 in the SiteLock instructions say:

3. Under Zone File Records select the appropriate domain form the dropdown list.

4. Click edit to the right of the root A record (indicated by the @ symbol) and input the first TrueShield IP provided.

SiteLock Instructions 2-1
Figure 8: SiteLock Instructions Steps 3, 4, and 5

So the following infographic shows you where to put the information you saw in the Figure 7 for Steps 3 and 4.

SiteLock Instructions Steps 3-4
Figure 8: Infographic showing where to put SiteLock steps 3 and 4 info in DNS Editor

Then SiteLock instruction Step 5 says:

5. For the second TrueShield IP, use the “Add DNS Record” section to add an A record with the ‘Host Record’ field set to “@” and the ‘Points To’ field set to the second TrueShield IP then hit ‘Add Record.’

This infographic shows you where to put the information from Figure 7 into the DNS editor.

Infographic showing SiteLock instructions Step 5
Figure 9: Infographic showing where to put information from Figure 7 according to SiteLock instructions Step 5.

Finally SiteLock Instructions Step 6 says:

6. Locate the ‘www’ CNAME record (NOTE: this may be set as an A record. If so, edit the record to be a CNAME) and edit ‘Points To’ to input the TrueShield CNAME (i.e: xxxxxx.sitelockcdn.net) then save.

SiteLock Instructions 3
Figure 10: SiteLock DNS Instructions Step 6

This infogaphic shows you where to put the SiteLock information from Figure 7 into the DNS editor.

SiteLock Instructions Step 6 -DNS Editor Infographic
Figure 11: Infographic showing where to put SiteLock Instructions Step 6 information into the DNS editor.

Then when you click save in the DNS Zone Editor, this should link up SiteLock with your site and protect your site.

As I said, this did not actually work for me. I was still getting the error in Figure 2. This is when Dexter had to do some behind the scenes work at SiteLock.

Step 3: Install the SiteLock Trust Seal

The final SiteLock step is to install the SiteLock Trust Seal. I went through this process, but I still for some reason do not have the trust seal. I have informed SiteLock and will update this when they get back to me.

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Filed Under: Building Your Website June 22, 2015 By Poor Potsherd Leave a Comment

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What is a Poor Potsherd?

A potsherd, of course, is a piece of broken pottery and is used as a simile in the Bible.
It is also found in this hopeful poem by G. M. Hopkins.
Read more....

Link to That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire and of the comfort of the Resurrection

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