diff --git a/spec/spec.md b/spec/spec.md
index f9a4570..3282c04 100644
--- a/spec/spec.md
+++ b/spec/spec.md
@@ -220,11 +220,11 @@ This authoritative account, by default, should give 97% of a commission's value
 + configuration file can be given as a parameter at startup else it is "cavecomm.conf".
 
 must start with
-+configstart+
+#configstart#
 and end with
-+configend+
+#configend#
 
-comment +
+comment #
 
 Close variable with ;
 
@@ -233,6 +233,9 @@ mandatory:
 	emailPassword
 	emailServerAddress
 	databaseConnectionString={postgresql://{user}:{password}@{host}:{port}/{database}}
+	sslCrtPath
+	sslKeyPath
+
 
 optional:{default}
 	emailServerPort={587}
diff --git a/src/database.cpp b/src/database.cpp
index 455cebb..3d980a9 100644
--- a/src/database.cpp
+++ b/src/database.cpp
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ namespace Database {
     }
 
     /*
-     * Executes the prepared statement SELECT_ITEM_BY_ID
+     * Executes the SELECT_FREELANCERS_WITHCOMMISSIONSSTATE statement
      * Takes an open pqxx::connection
      */
     pqxx::result executeStatement_SELECT_FREELANCERS_WITHCOMMISSIONSSTATE(pqxx::connection &connection) {
diff --git a/src/default-cavecomm.conf b/src/default-cavecomm.conf
index 5b7ed9e..d8119b5 100644
--- a/src/default-cavecomm.conf
+++ b/src/default-cavecomm.conf
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
 # emailAddress=
 # emailPassword=
 # emailServerAddress=
+# sslCrtPath=
+# sslKeyPath=
+
 
 # Optional: {default}
 # emailServerPort={587}
@@ -25,4 +28,9 @@ emailServerPort=587;
 
 emailAddressDisplay=Cavecomm Automated Management System;
 
+sslCrtPath=/media/sf_cavecommRemote/example.crt;
+
+sslKeyPath=/media/sf_cavecommRemote/example.key;
+
+
 #configend#
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 47d4aba..1734085 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         cout << "Aborting Startup!" << endl;
         return 1;
     }
-
+    return 0;
     // Create app with Middleware
     crow::App<crow::CookieParser> app;
 
@@ -508,7 +508,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         */
 
     //set the port, set the app to run on multiple threads, and run the app
-    //todo:properly setup SSL
-    app.ssl_file("/media/sf_cavecommRemote/example.crt", "/media/sf_cavecommRemote/example.key");
+    app.ssl_file(configuration.sslCrtPath, configuration.sslKeyPath);
     app.port(18080).multithreaded().run();
 }
diff --git a/src/utilities.cpp b/src/utilities.cpp
index c5934b8..ceb2fed 100644
--- a/src/utilities.cpp
+++ b/src/utilities.cpp
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ namespace Utilities {
     }
 
     std::string trimFromDelimiter(std::string stringToTrim, char delimiter) {
-        int position = stringToTrim.find(delimiter);
+        std::size_t position = stringToTrim.find(delimiter);
         if (position != std::string::npos)
             return stringToTrim.substr(0, position);
         return stringToTrim;
@@ -54,16 +54,22 @@ namespace Utilities {
         std::string emailServerAddress;
         int emailServerPort = 587;
         std::string emailAddressDisplay = "Cavecomm Automated Management System";
+        std::string sslCrtPath;
+        std::string sslKeyPath;
 
         /*
          * validates existence of mandatory variables in config
          * returns 0 if successful else 1
          */
         int checkMandatoryVariables() const {
-            if (emailAddress.compare("") == 0
-            || emailPassword.compare("") == 0
-            || emailServerAddress.compare("") == 0
-            || databaseConnectionString.compare("") == 0)
+            if (
+                  emailAddress.empty()
+               || emailPassword.empty()
+               || emailServerAddress.empty()
+               || databaseConnectionString.empty()
+               || sslCrtPath.empty()
+               || sslCrtPath.empty()
+               )
                 return 1;
 
             return 0;
@@ -113,30 +119,38 @@ namespace Utilities {
 
                         if (lineVector.size() == 2) {
                             std::cout << lineVector.at(0) << " - " << lineVector.at(1) << std::endl;
-                            if (lineVector.at(0).compare("emailAddress") == 0) {
+                            if (lineVector.at(0) == "emailAddress") {
                                 emailAddress = trimFromDelimiter(lineVector.at(1), ';');
                                 continue;
                             }
-                            if (lineVector.at(0).compare("emailPassword") == 0) {
+                            if (lineVector.at(0) == "emailPassword") {
                                 emailPassword = trimFromDelimiter(lineVector.at(1), ';');
                                 continue;
                             }
-                            if (lineVector.at(0).compare("emailServerAddress") == 0) {
+                            if (lineVector.at(0) == "emailServerAddress") {
                                 emailServerAddress = trimFromDelimiter(lineVector.at(1), ';');
                                 continue;
                             }
-                            if (lineVector.at(0).compare("emailServerPort") == 0) {
+                            if (lineVector.at(0) == "emailServerPort") {
                                 emailServerPort = std::stoi(trimFromDelimiter(lineVector.at(1), ';'));
                                 continue;
                             }
-                            if (lineVector.at(0).compare("emailAddressDisplay") == 0) {
+                            if (lineVector.at(0) == "emailAddressDisplay") {
                                 emailAddressDisplay = trimFromDelimiter(lineVector.at(1), ';');
                                 continue;
                             }
-                            if (lineVector.at(0).compare("databaseConnectionString") == 0) {
+                            if (lineVector.at(0) == "databaseConnectionString") {
                                 databaseConnectionString = trimFromDelimiter(lineVector.at(1), ';');
                                 continue;
                             }
+                            if (lineVector.at(0) == "sslCrtPath") {
+                                sslCrtPath = trimFromDelimiter(lineVector.at(1), ';');
+                                continue;
+                            }
+                            if (lineVector.at(0) == "sslKeyPath") {
+                                sslKeyPath = trimFromDelimiter(lineVector.at(1), ';');
+                                continue;
+                            }
                         }
                     }
                 }
@@ -163,7 +177,7 @@ namespace Utilities {
      * replaces a string with another string within a string
      */
     void replaceString(std::string &stringToProcess, const std::string& from, const std::string& to) {
-        int stringPosition = stringToProcess.find(from);
+        std::size_t stringPosition = stringToProcess.find(from);
         while (stringPosition != std::string::npos) {
             stringToProcess.replace(stringToProcess.find(from), std::string(from).size(), to);
             stringPosition = stringToProcess.find(from);
@@ -200,7 +214,7 @@ namespace Utilities {
             int err_no = client.sendMail(msg);
             if (err_no != 0) {
                 std::cerr << client.getCommunicationLog() << '\n';
-                std::string errorMessage = client.getErrorMessage(err_no);
+                std::string errorMessage = OpportunisticSecureSMTPClient::getErrorMessage(err_no);
                 std::cerr << "An error occurred: " << errorMessage
                           << " (error no: " << err_no << ")" << '\n';
                 return 1;