Just got a domain, what should I do with it?

Networking
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Just got a domain from namecheap.
I am planning to use domain for my freenas nextcloud server address. I need to find a tutorial on how to add my domain to the "trusted domain" list in the freenas plugins as well.
Next I want to create a website , using apache2.

Any other suggestions ?

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You can get a certificate from a trusted certificate authority for $5/yr if you buy 3 years at a time.
https://www.ssls.com/ssl-certificates/comodo-positivessl

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I just got a free domain and and also a SSL Cert. from namecheap for free.
I think I am going to run Apache in a Ubuntu VM and start tinkering around with website building.

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Possible things to do with a FQDN:

  • Use this list of HTTP servers to set up a home file server to share media and make it publicly accessible. Remember that it is possible to run multiple servers on the same machine using different ports. If running it on port 80, remember to block search engine indexing using a robots.txt at the root. Or you know, do not use a robots.txt and make your media indexable by Google and hence globally searchable o.o...
  • IDK if Apache supports HTTPS natively or how to work with nextcloud or w/e. If all else fails, set up Stunnel on port 443 and have it proxy traffic back and forth to Apache on port 80.
  • Lend your domain to Afraid.org and let other people use it for their subdomains. Great way to get random traffic to your website and help out the community.
  • Lend your domain to cloudflare's CDN instead to increase the performance of your site for visitors.
  • Run public DHT and/or XDCC servers.

Other reccomendations:

  • Having a self-hosted website using a CMS is like shouting to hackers "please hack me, please!" So, for running a "real" website, instead of an HTTP file server, I would recommend a publicly hosted one on wordpress, blogger, or weebly. Blogger will disable HTTPS when using custom domains but is otherwise free.
  • Since you control the domain, you can just make your nextcloud address a subdomain. So like, mydomain.com goes to blogger, utilizing Google's managed blog hosting, but nextcloud.mydomain.com can go to your home freenas setup. Then you get all of the benefits of managed blog hosting and having a custom domain, free. (except no HTTPS, wordpress/weebly support HTTPS but cost monies)
  • Also: seed Anime.
  • Try not to bundle your Registrar with other services, like managed DNS services and domain validation services. If you ever want to move to another registrar, things get messy, so I would recommend keeping everything isolated and provided by independent parties. So like, for SSL, I would use Let's Encrypt CA via the EFF's certbot instead of the cert namecheap provided. Let's Encrypt works normally with subdomains (freenas.mydomain.com).
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run your own email server and do it right. going to it job interviews with "your name@your name.whatever" proves you know what you claim to, or at least some of it. and having a truely private email server is rare these days. you can rent out address's to friends and family and quickly get back the cost of the domain and ssl certificates.

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6

Thanks for the great ideas.
I think my main goal is to have:
1. my nextcloud cloud use my domain name.
2. Plex server to use domain name (Plex.name.Com)
What would I need to do for that to work?

Possibly use like you said WordPress to create a locked website (only accessible by me) with my nextcloud link portal, and other portals.

In this case do I need an Apache server?
Thanks!!

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I think my namecheap comes with Namecheap private email. Might be able to set that up.
Thanks!

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I like that idea! I just need to learn how to get that setup!
That means I don't really have to host any webserver?

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To get Plex to work properly with a domain it is usually recommend to pass it through a proxy, Apache can do this and also nginx or whatever web server you want to use. This way you can have all the services running on the same port number and the domain would be https://plex.name.com/web instead of https://plex.name.com:32400/web/.

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I have Apache almost setup on my Ubuntu VM.
Are there any tutorials for creating a proxy? Is it a reverse proxy?
Thanks for your help.

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11

This goes into the basics for setting up Plex on a proxy using Apache:

http://matt.coneybeare.me/how-to-map-plex-media-server-to-your-home-domain/

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I ran a teamspeak server out of my house for a while on mine. Have since moved it to a droplet and set up my own vpn on that with my own DNS. Zoho lets you run email for free through your domain.

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I need to first get a dynamic DNS address? Or do I just need my domain?

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You can do both. You can refer to a DYN with a CNAME record on namecheap or you can just refer to your current IP and update it if it changes. In my experience your IP wont change unless you have a major power outage or the modem is down for an extended period of time.

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Found the article :
https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/595/11

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make it a redirect address to

https://downloadmoreram.com

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https://downloadmorewam.com/

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Also Yes.

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Found the steps:
https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx/36/11/how-do-i-start-using-dynamic-dns

I should probably set this up first before proceeding to other projects that are domain related
I am right @MichaelLindman ?

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FWIW I just have an A record pointing to my current IP. You can run dyndns, and in all reality you should, but its not necessary to get things working. My IP only ever changes if the modem goes down for an extended period of time, which hasnt happened for over a year now (power outage, internet outage, etc). It takes me 2 seconds to look it up again and fix it. Me personally, I dont want to run a client just to point it at my IP.

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