SSL/TLS Protocol Updates: What to Change on Your Servers and When

Why SSL/TLS Protocol Updates Matter More Than Ever

SSL/TLS has quietly become one of the most critical layers of your hosting stack. Every browser visit, API call and payment on your site rides on top of these encryption protocols. Yet in many hosting environments we still see sites serving traffic over outdated TLS versions or legacy cipher suites simply because the configuration was never revisited after the first SSL install. The result is a site that looks secure (green padlock, HTTPS in the address bar) but silently fails modern security checks, performance benchmarks and sometimes even compliance audits.

In this guide, we will walk through what “SSL/TLS protocol updates” actually mean in practice: which protocol versions and ciphers are now considered unsafe, what today’s modern baseline looks like, how these choices affect speed, SEO and compliance, and how to roll out changes on shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers and colocation without breaking older clients. As the dchost.com team, we will also share how we handle TLS updates on our own infrastructure, and what kind of roadmap we recommend for customers who want their HTTPS layer to stay secure without constant firefighting.

SSL vs TLS vs Cipher Suites: What Is Really Being Updated?

Before changing anything on your servers, it helps to separate three concepts that often get mixed together:

• Certificates: These are your DV / OV / EV or wildcard SSL certificates that prove your domain identity. They have an issuer (CA), an expiration date and public/private keys.
• Protocols: SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0, TLS 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3. These define how the client and server negotiate encryption and exchange keys.
• Cipher suites: The specific algorithms used for key exchange, encryption and message authentication (for example, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256).

Most people only think about the first item: “Is my SSL certificate valid and not expired?” But modern security depends far more on which protocol versions and cipher suites you allow. An up-to-date certificate running over TLS 1.0 with obsolete ciphers is still a serious weakness.

Over the past decade, SSL (2.0 and 3.0) and older TLS versions have been weakened by attacks such as POODLE, BEAST, Lucky13 and many others. Security researchers respond with new protocol versions, browser vendors deprecate old ones and hosting providers need to update their configurations. That cycle is what we mean by SSL/TLS protocol updates.

From SSL 3.0 to TLS 1.3: A Quick Timeline of Deprecations

You do not need to memorise every RFC, but understanding the big picture will make your upgrade decisions much easier:

• SSL 2.0 / SSL 3.0: Completely obsolete. Vulnerable to multiple attacks. Disabled by default in any modern stack. These must be off on all servers.
• TLS 1.0 (1999): The first TLS version. Today it is considered insecure for public web traffic and is explicitly banned by many compliance standards.
• TLS 1.1 (2006): An incremental improvement over 1.0, but also deprecated by all major browsers.
• TLS 1.2 (2008): For a long time the gold standard, and still a required baseline. Most production sites today rely heavily on TLS 1.2.
• TLS 1.3 (2018): The modern protocol: faster handshakes, cleaner design, fewer legacy ciphers, and much better defaults.

All modern browsers have removed support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1. Many enterprise environments do the same on their reverse proxies and load balancers. If your web server still allows TLS 1.0/1.1, you are maintaining risk for the sole benefit of very old clients that most of your visitors no longer use.

For a deeper dive into the TLS 1.3 side of the story, we already covered protocol-level changes in more detail in our article updates to TLS 1.3 standards and what they mean for your servers. Here, we will stay focused on the practical decisions you should be making today across all TLS versions.

The Modern Baseline: Which TLS Versions and Ciphers You Should Use

When we review customer setups at dchost.com, we usually evaluate SSL/TLS configurations against three goals:

• Security: No known-bad protocols or ciphers; forward secrecy; resistance to downgrade attacks.
• Compatibility: Reasonable support for still-relevant clients (for example, business desktops, recent Android/iOS, modern embedded devices).
• Performance: Minimal handshake latency; support for HTTP/2 and HTTP/3; efficient ciphers for both desktop and mobile.

As of today, a practical baseline for most public websites looks like this:

Recommended TLS Versions

• Enable: TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3
• Disable: SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0, TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1

For almost all websites, keeping only TLS 1.2 + 1.3 is the right decision. If you run a very specialised environment that must support ancient hardware or industrial devices, you can handle that via separate endpoints rather than weakening the main public site.

Recommended Cipher Principles

Rather than memorising long cipher lists, focus on the properties you want:

• Forward secrecy (PFS): Use ECDHE-based key exchange so that compromising the server key cannot retroactively decrypt past sessions.
• AEAD ciphers: Prefer AES-GCM and CHACHA20-POLY1305 over older CBC modes.
• Avoid legacy ciphers: Remove 3DES, RC4, export-grade and other obsolete algorithms.

On a typical Nginx or Apache server, that ends up looking similar to:

ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
ssl_ciphers   TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256:
              TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256:
              ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:
              ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256;
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;

On shared hosting, you often configure this indirectly through the provider’s “modern” profile. On our infrastructure, we keep those profiles aligned with current best practices so customers do not have to fine-tune cipher strings manually.

RSA vs ECDSA Certificates and Dual-Stack TLS

Protocol updates are tightly linked with certificate choices. The older style is an RSA certificate with a 2048‑bit key. Modern setups increasingly use ECDSA keys, which are shorter and faster yet still very secure.

However, some older clients do not fully support ECDSA. To avoid breaking them while still gaining the performance benefits of modern crypto, many operators deploy dual certificates (one RSA, one ECDSA) on the same domain. The server then automatically selects the best option for each client.

We discuss this dual-stack approach in detail in our article how to serve dual ECDSA + RSA certificates on Nginx and Apache, but the key takeaway in the context of protocol updates is:

• If you are modernising your TLS config anyway (dropping TLS 1.0/1.1, cleaning ciphers), it is a great time to consider moving to ECDSA or a dual RSA+ECDSA setup.
• On shared hosting at dchost.com, we handle these cryptographic details for you at the platform level where supported.

Real-World Impact: Browsers, SEO, Performance and Compliance

It is tempting to treat SSL/TLS as a checkbox item: “HTTPS is enabled, done.” In practice, outdated protocols show up in several areas you may care about: browser warnings, SEO, speed, and regulatory audits.

Browser Behaviour and User Trust

Modern browsers no longer support SSL 3.0, TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1. If visitors somehow connect with such a client, the connection will simply fail. More realistically, issues appear as:

• Browser security reports highlighting weak primitives on your domain.
• Mixed-content and “Not fully secure” warnings when migrating partially to HTTPS.

If you are still working through a full HTTPS migration, make sure to follow a structured approach like we describe in our full HTTPS migration guide with 301 redirects, HSTS and zero‑loss SEO. Once everything is on HTTPS, tightening TLS versions becomes much simpler.

SEO and Core Web Vitals

Search engines expect HTTPS, and they indirectly care about TLS performance via metrics like TTFB (Time to First Byte). TLS 1.3 reduces the number of round trips in the handshake, which can noticeably lower latency for visitors far from your server.

When we work on performance tuning projects (for example, improving Core Web Vitals for WordPress or WooCommerce sites on our hosting), we see a small but consistent gain from enabling TLS 1.3 together with HTTP/2 or HTTP/3. It is not as dramatic as fixing slow PHP or a bad database query, but it is a free optimisation once your stack is ready.

Compliance: PCI DSS and Industry Requirements

If you process payments directly on your site, you may be subject to PCI DSS or local equivalents. These standards explicitly require disabling SSL and early TLS (1.0 and often 1.1) for cardholder data environments. Even if your payment forms are handled by a third‑party gateway, some banks and partners may still run periodic scans and report weak TLS as a problem.

We covered the hosting-side perspective in our article PCI DSS for e‑commerce and what to do on the hosting side. The practical rule: if you see TLS 1.0/1.1 in your server tests, plan an upgrade sooner rather than later.

How to Check Your Current TLS Configuration

Before changing anything, get a clear picture of your current SSL/TLS state. A basic audit takes just a few minutes.

1. Use an External TLS Testing Tool

There are several well-known public tools that analyse your domain and show:

• Supported protocol versions (TLS 1.0–1.3).
• Enabled cipher suites and whether they are considered weak.
• Certificate chain issues, OCSP stapling, HSTS status and more.

Run these tests on your main domain and any important subdomains (API, admin, login, etc.). Keep screenshots or PDFs if you are preparing an internal security report.

2. Check from the Command Line with OpenSSL

If you have SSH access to a VPS or dedicated server, you can also test protocol support manually. For example:

openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 -tls1_2
openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 -tls1_3

If the TLS 1.0 or 1.1 commands still succeed, your server is allowing those versions. That is your cue to plan a protocol cleanup.

3. Inspect from Browser DevTools

Most modern browsers allow you to see which TLS version is used for a given HTTPS request via their developer tools. This is useful when:

• You are behind a CDN or reverse proxy and want to confirm the end‑to‑end TLS behaviour.
• You are testing specific endpoints like admin panels or APIs that might have different configs.

Combine this with server logs, as explained in our guide how to read web server logs to diagnose 4xx–5xx errors on Apache and Nginx. The same log-reading skills help you watch for TLS-related connection problems after an update.

Updating TLS on Shared Hosting, VPS and Dedicated Servers

The exact steps to update SSL/TLS protocols depend on where your site is hosted. At dchost.com, we see three common scenarios.

Scenario 1: Shared Hosting with Control Panel

On shared hosting, you usually configure TLS indirectly through the provider’s global settings and any toggle they expose in the control panel. Key points:

• Auto‑SSL and certificate automation: Make sure your account is using automatic certificate issuance and renewal (for example, via Let’s Encrypt). We explained the benefits and setup details in our article on advancements in SSL certificate automation for modern hosting and in why free SSL with Let’s Encrypt matters.
• Security profile selection: Some panels allow you to choose between “compatible”, “intermediate” and “modern” TLS profiles. If your audience does not rely on very old devices, pick at least “intermediate”, ideally “modern”.
• Provider defaults: On our shared hosting platforms, we keep TLS 1.2 and 1.3 enabled and older protocols disabled by default, so most customers inherit a secure setup without extra work.

If you are unsure what your shared hosting account is using, open a ticket with our support team. We can confirm the current profile and, when needed, help you migrate to a stricter configuration.

Scenario 2: VPS Hosting

On a VPS, you control the web server (Nginx, Apache, LiteSpeed, etc.) and often the underlying OpenSSL or TLS library. That means more flexibility, but also more responsibility. A typical VPS upgrade flow looks like this:

1. Update the OS and OpenSSL libraries to versions that fully support TLS 1.3 and modern ciphers.
2. Enable TLS 1.2 and 1.3 in your Nginx/Apache configuration and remove older protocols.
3. Clean up cipher suites to only allow PFS + AEAD ciphers.
4. Enable OCSP stapling, HSTS and HTTP/2/HTTP/3 where appropriate to get security and speed together.

We have a practical, step‑by‑step look at these settings in our article TLS 1.3 without tears: OCSP stapling, HSTS preload and PFS on Nginx/Apache. If you are managing your own VPS on dchost.com, that checklist is a good starting point.

Scenario 3: Dedicated Server or Colocation

On dedicated servers and colocated hardware, you typically run multiple services: web stacks, APIs, message brokers and internal dashboards. TLS updates become a cross‑application project rather than a single virtual host change. We recommend:

• Creating a central TLS policy (which protocol versions and ciphers are allowed) and applying it to all edge services: web, mail, VPN, admin panels.
• Documenting exceptions for legacy systems that genuinely cannot support TLS 1.2+, and isolating them on separate hostnames or networks.
• Using configuration management (Ansible, Chef, etc.) to keep TLS settings consistent across many servers.

When customers host their own servers in our colocation facilities, we often work together on such a policy during security reviews. The goal is to get strong, consistent TLS everywhere without unexpectedly breaking critical but older integrations.

Planning a TLS Protocol Cleanup Without Breaking Clients

The biggest fear many teams have is: “If we disable TLS 1.0 and 1.1, what if we lock someone out?” In practice, with a bit of planning, you can reduce that risk significantly.

1. Understand Your Client Landscape

List who and what connects to your servers:

• Public site visitors (modern browsers and phones – usually safe).
• Mobile apps (check minimum OS versions you support).
• Business partners’ systems (older Java stacks, legacy Windows, embedded devices).
• Internal tools and monitoring agents (may be running on older OS images).

For partners and internal systems, ask specifically which TLS versions they support. Many times, teams assume they “need” TLS 1.0 for a partner, but when asked, that partner has long since upgraded.

2. Start with Monitoring and Logging

Before flipping switches, set up logging that shows which protocols clients are actually using. Depending on your web server and TLS termination point, you can log the negotiated TLS version and cipher suite per request. After a few days or weeks of traffic, you will know whether any real clients are still on TLS 1.0/1.1.

3. Disable the Oldest and Worst First

A staged path we often use with customers is:

1. Disable SSLv3 and TLS 1.0 first (these are by far the riskiest).
2. Monitor error rates and support tickets for a while.
3. If all looks good, disable TLS 1.1 as well.
4. Keep TLS 1.2 + 1.3 as your long‑term baseline.

For most public websites, this change produces no visible impact on legitimate users. If issues do appear, they are usually linked to a forgotten integration or internal script that can be upgraded.

4. Communicate Changes to Stakeholders

When you are responsible for an organisation’s web or API infrastructure, it is wise to treat TLS updates like any other change:

• Announce the change window (even if you expect no impact).
• Provide a short explanation of why protocols are being updated.
• Include a testing endpoint or instructions for partners to verify their clients beforehand.

This reduces surprises and also demonstrates to management that you are proactively maintaining security instead of waiting for external scanners or auditors to raise issues.

Beyond Protocols: Other SSL/TLS Updates Worth Keeping Current

While this article focuses on protocol versions and ciphers, a complete TLS hygiene plan includes a few more items that are easy to overlook:

• Certificate lifetimes and automation: Shorter certificate lifetimes are becoming the norm. Automation via ACME (Let’s Encrypt, ZeroSSL, etc.) is no longer a luxury. We explained how to build resilient ACME setups in our guide to redundant ACME automation with acme.sh.
• OCSP stapling and revocation: Make sure your servers staple OCSP responses so clients can quickly confirm certificate validity without extra lookups.
• HSTS and security headers: Once you are confident in your HTTPS deployment, enable HSTS (and possibly preload) to force HTTPS and block protocol downgrade attacks.
• CAA records: Use DNS CAA records to control which CAs are allowed to issue certificates for your domains.

We collected many of these pieces in our existing article SSL/TLS security updates: what you must keep up to date on your servers. Think of TLS protocol cleanup as one important chapter in a broader story of keeping your HTTPS stack healthy.

How We Approach SSL/TLS Protocol Updates at dchost.com

As a hosting provider offering shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers and colocation, we see the impact of SSL/TLS decisions from both sides: our core platform and our customers’ applications. Over time we have settled on a few principles:

• Secure defaults: New shared hosting accounts and managed environments start with TLS 1.2 and 1.3 enabled and legacy versions disabled. Customers get a strong baseline “for free”.
• Clear upgrade paths on VPS and dedicated: For self‑managed servers, we provide documentation, example configs and, when requested, advisory guidance so you can modernise TLS without guesswork.
• Separation for special cases: If you truly must keep older protocols for a particular legacy device or system, we recommend isolating it on a dedicated hostname or server instead of weakening your main production sites.
• Continuous review: We periodically review TLS recommendations, browser deprecations and library updates, then adjust our platform configurations and best‑practice guides accordingly.

Whether your workload sits on a shared plan, a tuned NVMe VPS, a powerful dedicated server or your own hardware in our colocation racks, the goal is the same: keep your TLS layer modern, fast and boringly reliable. No drama, no last‑minute panic because a partner suddenly fails a security scan.

Putting It All Together: Your Next Steps

SSL/TLS protocol updates are not about chasing shiny features; they are about quietly retiring broken cryptography and aligning your servers with how the web actually works today. For most teams, the path is straightforward: confirm that TLS 1.2 and 1.3 are enabled, remove SSLv3/TLS 1.0/1.1, clean up old ciphers, and make sure certificates are automated and regularly renewed.

If you have never looked at your TLS configuration, start with a simple external test of your main domain and note which protocols and ciphers are in use. From there, plan a small, controlled change: perhaps disabling TLS 1.0/1.1 on your primary site while monitoring logs and support channels. Once you see that everything keeps working, you can extend the same policy to APIs, admin panels and secondary domains.

At dchost.com, we design our hosting platform so these updates are as simple as possible. If you are on our shared hosting, most of the heavy lifting is already done for you. If you run a VPS, dedicated server or colocated machine, we are happy to help you review your current setup and sketch a pragmatic upgrade plan. Keep your certificates automated, your TLS protocols modern and your visitors will enjoy a faster, safer experience without even noticing what changed under the hood.