We love Plex here, mostly because of how easy it makes it to set up a home media server, but also because it just gets better over time. The latest update might not add any cool new features on the front end, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important.
Plex has teamed up with DigiCert to provide free SSL certificates for its media servers, meaning that your Plex server will now use “top-grade encryption.” Not only does this mean it will be difficult to snoop on your streams, but your Plex box is now less of a target for hackers as well.
“When we first started our little operation so many years ago, the Internet was a much kinder and gentler place,” the blog post announcing the new feature reads. “Needless to say, times have changed. In today’s Internet security climate, it’s a laughable offense if every packet leaving and entering your network is not encrypted, its recipient verified.”
You won’t see any difference in how your setup works once it is using the new secure connections, aside from the telltale green lock and “https” in your browser’s address bar. Behind the scenes, however, things will be much more tightly locked down.
If you want to make sure you’re using the new secure connections on your home setup, update your Plex Media Server software to version 0.9.12.3 and make sure you’re signed in. Secure connection support has been automatically pushed out to the Plex Home Theater and web apps as well as the Android and Windows apps and the preview version of the Roku app.
Secure connection support is on the way to iOS as part of a larger update, and will also be coming soon to game consoles and smart TVs. The new secure connections are available to everyone — not just Plex Pass subcribers — for free.
For a more in-depth look at exactly how Plex goes about making things more secure, see the post on the Plex blog.
