changing admin to secure / ssl

New install of 1.5, didn't select to make either catalog or admin secure so when I tried to install authorize.net, it balked saying admin isn't secure. So I went into the admin configure file and changed both choices to true.

So then I go back to admin - and I have tried this in three browsers - the login page is secure and when I login the admin home is still secure but all links go back to nonsecure.

I wondered if changing the configure file to make the catalog secure was necessary so I made the catalog secure as well but with no change in admin.

This is all I'm supposed do for 1.5? It doesn't seem any different than 1.3.9h in this so what could be happening?

in 1.5 to run a payment module I believe you need to use a "https:" URL for BOTH the HTTP_SERVER and HTTPS_SERVER entries.. making the entire admin https

You just need the Admin secure to change the payment modules not the Catalog ...

jc8125 - that was it exactly. Is this new for 1.5? Don't remember that before. Ajeh, needed to go to secure anyway for the catalog. Good to know they aren't connected in that way.

yep, pretty sure it's new for 1.5.. there's a note in the config file "suggesting" you put them both to https for security, but it doesn't quite spell it out that it's a requirement for installing payment mods. i do remember seeing it mentioned somewhere else, just can't remember where..

gads, this is making me feel like a newbie! Thanks!

Yes, it's new for v1.5.0

And the other thing that's new on the storefront side is related to whether payment modules are displayed or not: if your store doesn't have ENABLE_SSL set to true (this process is the same) then any (updated) payment modules which "require" SSL to be available, will (this is what is new:) not show up during payment selection ... because you DO NOT want your store accepting credit card numbers if SSL isn't enabled.

That's a good idea! So, Dr. Byte, I have read thru the changes 1.5 as posted several times early on but it really hasn't prepared me for any of this. Is there more information centrally located? Or a specific thread I can contribute to as I run across new things that could be written up? I'm still not positive sure about mods - I did post a question about upgrading mods that I don't think ever got answered. When the mods are already upgraded, I steer my clients to 1.5 but it's costing me time and money to do so. In other words I want a 1.5 primer! But am also willing to write it up as I go here.