Last modified: 2025 August 1

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Overview

Newly-installed servers without a fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) as a hostname will automatically receive one from WebPros International, LLC. The hostname will be a subdomain of cprapid.com.

Why do you need an automatically-issued hostname?

An automatically-issued hostname allows Let’s Encrypt™ to issue a free SSL certificate to your server.

An SSL certificate is a digital certificate that provides encryption and authentication for websites, ensuring secure communication between a website and a user’s browser. Some browsers block users from accessing websites without SSL certificates.

cPanel & WHM attempts to secure your server with an SSL certificate immediately after installation. First, it installs a self-signed certificate to secure the server. Then, it requests a free hostname certificate from Let’s Encrypt, our default Certificate Authority (CA).

However, if a server does not have a FQDN hostname with a DNS record, Let’s Encrypt cannot issue a certificate for it. This means that the server will only use a self-signed certificate. If the server uses a self-signed certificate, users will see a security warning when they log in. This warning will display for the cPanel, WHM, and Webmail interfaces.

To fix this, cPanel & WHM provides an automatically-issued FQDN hostname to servers without one. This allows Let’s Encrypt to provide a free hostname certificate, which resolves security warnings.

Limitations

• The automatically-issued hostname only issues a FQDN under the cprapid.com domain and points it to the main IP address of the server.
• You cannot manage the subdomain or delegate the subdomain to any other server.
• To create subdomains for nameservers, you must set the server to use a hostname from a domain that you control. Nameservers under the cprapid.com domain will not be fully functional.
• If a hosting provider uses a pre-installation script or post-installation script to assign a hostname to the server, the script will continue to work. However, the hostname must use a FQDN and resolve to the server’s IP address. Otherwise, the system will replace the hostname with an automatically-issued hostname.
• If a cPanel Partner disables the free hostname certificate service for their customers Manage2’s Update Company Information interface (Manage2 » Dashboard » Company » Update Company Information), the server will only use a self-signed certificate.
  Remember:

  If a server’s hostname uses a self-signed certificate, you will see a security warning when you log in.

Replace your automatically-issued hostname

We encourage users to replace automatically-issued hostnames with an existing domain or purchase a new domain to generate a hostname. Using your own domain name and hostname will help establish your company’s brand.

To change the server’s hostname, use WHM’s Change Hostname interface (WHM » Home » Networking Setup » Change Hostname).

Hostname certificate replacement

When a user changes a server’s hostname, Let’s Encrypt will automatically issue a new certificate for that server.