Can I use https if I use duckdns.org for https on Hostinger

Conversation with Gemini

You said can I cancel my subscription to hosinger and get a refund?

Can I cancel my subscription to hosinger and get a refund?

Gemini said

Yes, you can cancel your Hostinger subscription at any time, but you are likely no longer eligible for a refund.

Hostinger offers a standard 30-day money-back guarantee. If you cancel within the first 30 days of your transaction, you can request a full refund. However, since you set up your Arch Linux VPS on Hostinger back in July 2026, you are outside of the 30-day refund window.

Hostinger

If you choose to cancel now, your service will simply remain active until the end of your current billing cycle, at which point it will not auto-renew.

Want me to walk you through the steps to cancel auto-renewal?

Yes

You said How do I turn off auto-renewal for my Hostinger VPS?

How do I turn off auto-renewal for my Hostinger VPS?

Gemini said

To turn off auto-renewal for your Hostinger VPS, follow these steps in your Hostinger account dashboard:

  1. Log in to hPanel at hostinger.com (or your regional Hostinger portal).
  2. Go to the VPS tab in the top navigation bar (or click Hosting / Services depending on your layout).
  3. Find your VPS subscription (e.g., n6xre.cloud) and click Manage.
  4. In the left-hand side sidebar, select Billing or Renewal.
  5. Locate your active subscription status, click Disable auto-renewal (or Cancel subscription), and confirm your choice.

Once disabled, your VPS will remain active and fully functional until the final day of your paid billing period, after which it will automatically expire without charging your payment method again.

You said If i do not renew my domain can i still access by my ip

If i do not renew my domain can i still access by my ip

Gemini said

Yes, you can still access your VPS using its IP address even if your domain expires.

A domain name is simply a friendly human-readable shortcut that maps to your server's public IP via DNS. Expiration of the domain only breaks that naming shortcut—the VPS itself, its IP address, data, and active network ports remain completely unchanged until your Hostinger subscription expires.

Here is how different services are affected:

  • SSH Access: You can log in via SSH using your IP address instead of the hostname:
    Bash 
    ssh root@<YOUR_VPS_IP>
  • Direct Web Access (HTTP): Navigating directly to http://<YOUR_VPS_IP> in your browser will still reach your Apache web server.
  • Portainer & Admin Interfaces: Portainer and other services accessible via specific ports (e.g., http://<YOUR_VPS_IP>:9000) will continue to function normally.

Potential Issues to Keep in Mind

  1. SSL / HTTPS Warnings: If you set up SSL certificates (like Let's Encrypt) tied specifically to your domain name, accessing your server via raw IP over HTTPS (https://<YOUR_VPS_IP>) will trigger a browser security warning because SSL certificates are issued to domain names, not IP addresses.
  2. Virtual Host Routing: If your Apache web server configuration relies on ServerName n6xre.cloud inside a Name-Based Virtual Host without a default fallback rule, visiting the IP address directly in a browser will serve the default Apache test page or the first site listed in your web server config rather than a specific subfolder. You may need to ensure your desired site is set as the default site (000-default.conf).
You said trigger a browser security warning. but will it still serve the page?

trigger a browser security warning. but will it still serve the page?

Gemini said

Yes, it will still serve the page, provided you bypass or accept the browser warning.

When you navigate to https://<YOUR_VPS_IP>, the browser blocks the content initially because the SSL certificate domain name doesn't match the raw IP address. However, the connection itself is established, and Apache is ready to serve the content.

Here is what happens in practice:

  1. Bypassing the Warning: If you click "Advanced" and then select "Proceed to [IP address] (unsafe)" (or the equivalent in Firefox/Vivaldi), the browser establishes the TLS connection anyway and loads your site normally.
  2. HTTP vs HTTPS: If you visit http://<YOUR_VPS_IP> (using standard HTTP on port 80 instead of HTTPS on 443), there will be no certificate warning at all, unless your web server configuration automatically forces an HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect.

Exception to Keep in Mind

If your site relies on HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) or if you try to load external assets over plain HTTP from an HTTPS origin, the browser might block specific resources or refuse to let you bypass the warning on HTTPS. Otherwise, clicking past the warning will render the page as usual.

You said my sight doesn't serve https now. how do i change that?

my sight doesn't serve https now. how do i change that?

Gemini said

To serve HTTPS on your Apache web server using a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate via Certbot, follow these steps.

Prerequisite Checklist

  • Valid Domain: Let's Encrypt requires a domain name pointing directly to your VPS IP via an A record. If your domain expires or DNS isn't pointing to this IP, Let's Encrypt cannot complete the ACME challenge.
  • Firewall Ports: Ensure port 443 (HTTPS) is open in your VPS firewall.

Step-by-Step HTTPS Setup

1

Install Certbot and Apache SSL Module

Prerequisites for HTTPS on Arch Linux

1.Install Certbot and Apache SSL Module:Prerequisites for HTTPS on Arch Linux.Log into your server via SSH and install certbot and certbot-apache:

Bash

sudo pacman -S certbot certbot-apache

Ensure the SSL and rewrite modules are enabled in your main Apache configuration file (/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf):

conf

LoadModule ssl_module modules/mod_ssl.so
LoadModule socache_shmcb_module modules/mod_socache_shmcb.so
Include conf/extra/httpd-ssl.conf

2

Ensure VirtualHost is Configured

2.Ensure VirtualHost is Configured:Certbot needs to read your domain configuration from your Apache virtual host file. Make sure your server block has ServerName yourdomain.com explicitly declared:

Apache

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    ServerAlias www.yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html
</VirtualHost>

3

Run Certbot to Obtain and Install the Certificate

3.Run Certbot to Obtain and Install the Certificate:

Execute the Certbot Apache plugin:

Bash

sudo certbot --apache

Follow the interactive prompts:

  1. Enter an email address for renewal and security alerts.
  2. Agree to the Terms of Service.
  3. Select the domain(s) you want to secure.
  4. Choose whether to automatically redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS (recommended).

4

Enable Automatic Certificate Renewal

4.Enable Automatic Certificate Renewal:Let's Encrypt certificates last 90 days. Enable the systemd timer so it auto-renews in the background:

Bash

sudo systemctl enable --now certbot.timer

You can dry-run the renewal process anytime to verify it works:

Bash

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

If You Are Not Using a Domain (IP Address Only)

Public Certificate Authorities like Let's Encrypt do not issue standard SSL certificates for raw IP addresses. If you choose to let your domain expire:

  1. You will need to generate a self-signed certificate using OpenSSL:
    Bash 
    sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 \
  -keyout /etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key \
  -out /etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt
  2. Point your Apache SSL VirtualHost to those certificate paths.
  3. Browsers will show a warning upon visiting the IP, but traffic between your client and server will remain encrypted after accepting the browser exception.
You said if my domain expires can i still use https if i use duckdns.org

if my domain expires can i still use https if i use duckdns.org

Gemini said

Yes, absolutely. DuckDNS gives you a free domain name (like yoursubdomain.duckdns.org) that points directly to your VPS IP address, and you can issue a real, valid Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for it completely free.

Because Let's Encrypt issues certificates to valid domain names—and DuckDNS subdomains are standard, valid hostnames—your site will serve HTTPS with no browser security warnings, even after your main domain expires.

How to Switch Your VPS to DuckDNS and HTTPS

1

Create Your Free Subdomain

Setup via DuckDNS Web UI

1.Create Your Free Subdomain:Setup via DuckDNS Web UI.

  1. Go to duckdns.org and log in using GitHub, Google, or another supported sign-in option.
  2. Under domains, choose a subdomain name (e.g., myvps) and click add domain.
  3. Enter your Hostinger VPS public IP address in the ip field and click update ip.

2

Update Your Apache VirtualHost Config

Prepare Apache for the new domain name

2.Update Your Apache VirtualHost Config:Prepare Apache for the new domain name.Open your Apache site configuration on your VPS (e.g., /etc/httpd/conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf or /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf) and update the ServerName to your new DuckDNS address:

Apache

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yoursubdomain.duckdns.org
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html
</VirtualHost>

Restart Apache to load the changes:

Bash

sudo systemctl restart httpd

3

Obtain Your Free Let's Encrypt SSL Certificate

Run Certbot for the DuckDNS domain

3.Obtain Your Free Let's Encrypt SSL Certificate:Run Certbot for the DuckDNS domain.

Run Certbot targeting your new subdomain:

Bash

sudo certbot --apache -d yoursubdomain.duckdns.org

Certbot will perform the HTTP challenge, retrieve a signed certificate, and automatically configure Apache to serve HTTPS over port 443 with an automatic HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect.

4

Set Up Auto-Update for Dynamic IP Changes (Optional)

Only needed if your VPS IP changes in the future

4.Set Up Auto-Update for Dynamic IP Changes (Optional):Only needed if your VPS IP changes in the future.If your VPS IP is static (standard on Hostinger), you don't strictly need a script. However, to keep DuckDNS in sync automatically, set up a simple cron job using your DuckDNS token:

Bash

echo 'echo url="https://www.duckdns.org/update?domains=yoursubdomain&token=YOUR_DUCKDNS_TOKEN&ip=" | curl -k -K -' > ~/duckdns/duck.sh
chmod 700 ~/duckdns/duck.sh

Add it to crontab -e to run every 5 minutes:

cron

*/5 * * * * ~/duckdns/duck.sh >/dev/null 2>&1

Summary of What Changes

Feature Custom Expired Domain DuckDNS Subdomain
Cost Domain Renewal Fee Free
Valid SSL Certificate No (Fails ACME check) Yes (Let's Encrypt works normally)
Browser Warnings Yes (if using IP/Self-signed) None (Green padlock / Secure)
Portainer / Web Services Access via IP:Port Access via yoursubdomain.duckdns.org:Port

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