Can you wildcard a subdomain?

A wildcard DNS record allows you to point all existing and non-existing subdomains to a specific area. For example, www.example.com and test.example.com would both direct to www.example.com when a wildcard subdomain is enabled. If your main domain is example.com, then the wildcard subdomain will be *. example.com.

Table of Contents

How does a wildcard subdomain work?

What is a Wildcard Certificate? A wildcard SSL certificate is the next-generation security solution that allows the main website and its subdomains to be secured by a single SSL certificate, even if the sites are on the multiple servers. It is a one-stop security solution for any website with multiple subdomains.

How do I bind a subdomain in IIS?

Add sub-domain to DNS records.
Go to your domain in IIS, right-click->Edit Bindings->Add, and add your new subdomain leaving everything else the same e.g. mysubdomain.domain.com.

How do I add a wildcard to my domain?

A wildcard DNS record is specified by using a “*” as the part of a domain name, e.g., *. example.com. NOTE: A wildcard DNS record does not cover a root domain (e.g. yourdomain. tld), thus you will need to create a record for @ host additionally.

How do I secure a subdomain?

Go to Site Tools > Security > SSL Manager. Select the subdomain from the Select Domain dropdown and choose the desired type of SSL. Click Install.

Does a wildcard certificate cover root domain?

Yes. A wildcard SSL certificate secures not only an unlimited number of single-level subdomains, but it also secures the root domain that they stem from as well! This means that any wildcard SSL certificate, including one from a trusted CA like RapidSSL, would cover your root domain.

How do I create a sub website in IIS?

IIS7 – Start the IIS Manager.

Example 1: parentsite.com/subsite/ – Right-click on parentsite.com | Add virtual directory. Alias: [new site name, eg subsite].
Example 2: subsite.parentsite.com – Right-click on Sites | Add web site.
Example 3: subsite.com – add a web site as example 2, calling the host name subsite.com.

How do I setup a subdomain?

How to Create a Subdomain

Log in to your Domains Dashboard.
On the dashboard, select the domain where you’re creating a subdomain.
Choose the domain you wish to modify.
Click on Pointers & Subdomains in the left-hand menu.
Click the blue Add Subdomain button.
The new subdomain will be shown where it was added.

How do you implement a wildcard in SSL?

Step 1: Purchase Your Wildcard SSL Certificate.
Step 2: Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) Code and Private Key.
Step 3: Upload Your Private Key and Certificate Files to Your Server.
Step 4: Confirm That the Wildcard SSL Certification Installation Was Successful.

Why is my subdomain not secure?

If you secure only your main domain with HTTPS but not subdomains, Google Chrome will show “NOT SECURE” warning for all those subdomain webpages. Users might not trust those webpages and decide not to deal with your website, which would ultimately affect your online business.

Do you need separate SSL for subdomain?

Yes, in general, a different SSL would be required for each subdomain, because each subdomain is considered a separate domain. However, there are wildcard SSL certificates available on the SSL market.

Does SSL protect subdomains?

SSL certificate is a must online security for any online business. SSL certificates can be of many types including single domain SSL, multi domain SSL, wildcard SSL, etc. SSL certificates can secure main domains, subdomains, and multi-level domains.

What does a wildcard certificate cover?

A wildcard certificate is a digital certificate that is applied to a domain and all its subdomains. Wildcard notation consists of an asterisk and a period before the domain name. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates often use wildcards to extend SSL encryption to subdomains.

How long does it take for a subdomain to become active?

This can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. You can access the subdomain by using http://www.your-domain.com/sub until the subdomain’s DNS information propogates.

Which wildcard bindings should not be used?

Top-level wildcard bindings ( http://*:80/ and http://+:80) should not be used. Top-level wildcard bindings can open up your app to security vulnerabilities. This applies to both strong and weak wildcards. Use explicit host names rather than wildcards.

Is subdomain wildcard binding a security risk?

Subdomain wildcard binding (for example, *.mysub.com) doesn’t have this security risk if you control the entire parent domain (as opposed to *.com, which is vulnerable). See rfc7230 section-5.4 for more information.

Is it legal to add a wildcard host header in IIS?

For example, http://*.service.contoso.com is a legal wildcard host binding whereas http://service.*.contoso.com is not permissible. To add a new site with a Wildcard Host Header in IIS you need to follow these simple steps:

What is a valid wildcard host?

For example the following would all be valid hosts: Wildcards are only allowed in the left-most subdomain of the hostname. For example, http://*.service.contoso.com is a legal wildcard host binding whereas http://service.*.contoso.com is not permissible.