SSL Certificates - Secure Server Certificates

What is SSL?

SSL certificates are generally used with ecommerce shopping carts, or anywhere you want to collect information from a user securely on your website. If you use a secure server certificate with a form; and that form emails the results to you; keep in mind that the email is not secure.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): Creates an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. CA (Certificate Authority): The vendor you will get the secure server certificate from CSR (Certificate Signing Request): A text file generated by a web server. A CSR looks like this:

-----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
MIIDGgBNAGkAYwByAG8AcwBvAGYAdAAgAFIAUwBBACAAUwB
AG4AZQBsACAAQwByAHkAcAB0AG8AZwByAGEAcABoAGkAYwl
L0ygNwwNIvKLMPq4/LcUkZ9Oo4AssXW5mvvhHWGz2RWYRhrw8o
-----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
 

First, you need to decide whether to use your hosting shared SSL certificate if they offer it. The URL to your store will look something like:

https://theirserver.com/youruserid/your/path/to/store.html

Or do you want to get your own SSL certificate? The URL will look like:

https://yourdomainname.com

If you decide to use your hosts' shared secure server certificate, then all you need to do is find out the path you need to use to call your files securely, and you will be on your way.

If you decide to get your own SSL certificate, this is generally what happens.

You first need to decide who you are going to get your SSL certificate from. It is a good idea to make sure your host supports your particular vendor. Some certificate authority vendors are:

 

• Thawte
• Verisign
• Comodo
• You can also review several vendors at a glance at WhichSSL

 

Before getting your own SSL certificate, you will need to do some reading on what your chosen Certificate Authority requires for a secure certificate, and you'll also need to come up with some documentation. There are several steps to buying a secure server certificate, once you have decided on a vendor.

This is an overview, not written in stone. Each CA is different, so make sure you read their documentation and what they require. Here is an idea of what they want:

All documentation that is requested must match *exactly*. Secure certificate authorities will verify that your organization actually exists, so they know they are issuing to the correct company. You will need to prove that the Organization Name and the Domain name are in fact yours to use.

Steps you'll be taking:

 

• Gather required documentation
• Have your host generate a CSR
• Complete certificate authority online application
• Certificate authority will process your request
• Pickup and install your SSL certificate (usually an URL is emailed to you to download the secure server certificate)
• Depending on the vendor, it can take a few hours to a few days.
• Send secure certificate to host for installation. (Send in plain text)

 

Once your web hosting provider receives this information; they will generate the CSR and send it back to you in plain text. You then send it on to Verisign or Thawte, or whoever you have chosen as your secure certificate authority. They will then generate a SSL certificate for you which you will send back to your host for installation. Your web host may charge a fee for installation in addition to what your SSL certificate vendor charges.

Something to think about:

If you've decided to purchase your own SSL certificate, you will need to decide how you want your URL to be called. If you, as a rule, call your domain name in your coding as www.yourdomainname.com, then make sure you indicate this to your host when you request a CSR from them. If you don't, and you get the certificate for yourdomainname.com (without the www), this will cause browser errors, making the certificate seem insecure, and you will need to change your coding.

Always use yourself or your company as technical contact.

How to tell if a site is secure?

After you've browsed to a site securely; using https:// in the URL, look on the lower right hand side of your browser. You should see a closed lock. This will tell you the site is secure.

ELizabeth Ramer has been working in the web hosting industry since 1997. Visit Flawebworks Web Hosting for web hosting and articles.

 

SSL Certificates: The Credit Card Protector

So you want to create a site, that will take get people to pay online. In order for them to do this they need to pay with Credit Card. So you purchase an account with an online Merchant, and want your site to collect the Credit Card information to collect payment.

Now can you do this on your normal page? No, you should not! Why? Because if the page is not secure, then the potential of your customers credit card number getting in the wrong hands is likely! And we don't want such a thing to happen to our customers. So how do we protect the Credit Card Number? A Thing we call SSL Certificates.

First things first. What is a SSL Certificate?

A SSL Certificate makes your site have a URL with https instead of just http. What does that little s make a difference? It does because with the Certificate, your page is encryped in a Secure fashion, and other groups are not able to view what you do online, and are not able to get secure information such as the credit card number. The goal of the SSL Certificate is to keep your information exchange or purchases with credit card transactions encrypted and secure.

What else does an SSL Certificate do for me?

The main positive aspect of an SSL Certificate, is it shows customers they can do business with you safely. Your visitors, prospects, and customers are on their guard and worry about their personal and financial information being leaked to people who should be getting it. You can turn these same customers' concerns into a competitive advantage by showing them you keep their information a secure manner. With SSL Certificates 256-bit encryption and 99% browser recognition, customers can be confident that their information will not be put in the wrong hands.

The SSL Certificate verifies:

You were approved to be issued the certificate.

WebTrust Seal of assurance for Certification Authorities

Make sure you get your SSL Certificate to Boost Customer Confidence in purchasing online on your site, and to protect those Credit Card Numbers from falling into the wrong hands!

Domains at Retail is a high quality SSL Certificate Reseller created to help everyone get the cheapest rate for SSL Certificates and the cheapest rate for Domain Names and Web hosting solutions on the Internet (http://www.domainsatretail.com/securessl.html)

Visit at: http://www.domainsatretail.com Download our Free Web Site Startup Ebook: http://www.domainsatretail.com/DomainsAtRetail.pdf

 

SSL Certificates-What They Are

There is hardly any doubt that the Internet has successfully created new opportunities for e-commerce. However, that expansion has also attracted cyber criminals. This industry is always on the threshold of new threats from hackers. This is where a fraudulent web site impersonating a legitimate business attempts to woo unsuspecting visitors into divulging personal information. Until now we don’t have a solution of this problem, but now we have a wonderful solution in shape of a Secure Sockets Layer.

Secure Sockets Layer which is also known as “SSL certificates” is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This digital certificate is used with the most popular security protocol on the Internet. Without this encryption, packets of data travel networks in full view. Anyone can see the data and manipulate it to imitate other users.

Today maximum e – commerce sites are using this digital certificates to keep secure their customers valuable information. That’s why when we make a purchase on the Web and notice the closed lock icon at the bottom of our browser or the HTTPS:// prefix in the URL, it means now all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral.

Today gaining the trust of online customers is vital for the success of any e-commerce based business. Now any web server company can enable “SSL Certificates” in their web server and secure their data by using four simple steps. These steps are:

1) Obtain SSL Certificate(s),

2) Produce a Certificate Signing Request,

3) Register for a SSL server certificate,

4) Establish the SSL server certificates.

Some time many companies find problem to manage their multiple sub domains security. For them there is another certificate is present which manage secure multiple websites with a single certificate. We call this wildcard certificate. This certificate is a cost effective and well-organized way of securing multiple sub domains without the need to manage multiple certificates. You may get ssl certificates, digital certificates, and verisign certificates from places like http://www.ssl.com , and other sites on the net.

When VeriSign issues an SSL Certificate it acts as a Certification Authority (CA). It digitally signs each certificates. Each browser contains a list of Certification Authorities to be trusted. When the SSL handshake occurs, the browser verifies that the server certificate was issued by a trusted CA.

Deepak

http://www.ssl.com

Web SSL Certificate Unleashed

Today, Internet is not a very safe place. Information transmitted through online sometimes read by other people. There are many ways that malicious people (known as crackers) can learn the information visitors are exchanging with your website, and obtain sensitive information (for example, passwords or credit card numbers). It could also be possible that they presented to unaware customers a modified version of your website hosted on their server, in order to collect some important information from them.

In order to fight this, a special Internet protocol called SSL (Secure Sockets Layer was created (when speaking of viewing Web pages over SSL, often the term HTTPS is used).

SSL is a global standard security technology developed by Netscape in 1994. SSL is all about encryption. It creates an encrypted link between a web server and a web browser. The link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browser remains private and secure and is recognized by millions of consumers by a secure padlock, which appears in their browser.

The SSL protocol is used by millions of e-Business providers to protect their customers ensuring their online transactions remain confidential. In order to be able to use the SSL protocol, a web server requires the use of an SSL Certificates are provided by Certification Authorities (CA) who in most cases also offers additional products and services to aid e-Businesses to demonstrate that they are trustworthy. Consumers have grown to associate the 'golden padlock', that appears within their browser display, as an indication of trust in the web site. This simple fact allows e-Business providers an opportunity to leverage that increased trust level to turn visitors into paying customers - so long as you know which type to choose.

SSL certificates are generally used with ecommerce shopping carts, or anywhere you want to collect information from a user securely on your website. If you use a secure server certificate with a form; and that form emails the results to you; keep in mind that the email is not secure.

Online transactions are not considered to be safe by most of the users. With the advent of hacking incidents, and unauthorized sharing of personal data with third parties, the users are even more careful about making online transactions. So for businesses which have ecommerce presence or have corporate intranet where the users and company’s data security is of paramount importance, the most significant way is SSL certificate.

You would require a Web SSL Certificate, if:
• You have an online store or accept online orders and credit cards.
• Your business partners log in to confidential information on an extranet
• You have offices that share confidential information over an intranet.
• You process sensitive data such as address, birth date, license, or ID numbers.
• You need to comply with privacy and security requirements.
• You value privacy and expect others to trust you.

Although the certificate authority market is quite diverse you purchase the same according to your need and budget; there are many offerings in different price ranges, with the Open Directory Project identifying 22 third parties offering the service and more than 20 root certificates bundled into Internet Explorer and Firefox—it is dominated by a few major firms.

According to a June 2005 survey from Netcraft and similar January 2007 tallies from Security Space, the largest vendors are: VeriSign plus its Thawte subsidiary (www.verisign.com), Equifax via its GeoTrust subsidiary (www.equifax.com), Comodo (www.comodo.com), GoDaddy/Starfield (www.godaddy.com), Entrust.net (entrust.net), and Digicert (www.digicert.com). Together these six have approx 95% of the market, depending on the measurement methodology, while Verisign Still holds the largest market share of 72%, While comodo approx 18%, Geotrust 3.43%, Entrust approx 2.5 %, GoDaddy approx 1% and rest about 3 to 4%.

Although there is no functional difference between the SSL certificates issued by these recognized CAs. Vendors do establish product distinctions through a variety of added features and in the level of company validation.

As with most services, competition has proven beneficial for Web site operators, with the abundance of vendors pushing costs for business-class certificates down. Given their potential abuse by phishers and scam artists, businesses should avoid using the bargain basement, domain-only products, while those wishing to provide the highest level of security to their users should consider the new EV certificates.

Shakir Husein is the CEO of Dynamic Intel. Dynamic specializes in secured ecommerce solutions and content management systems. More articles on ecommerce and CMS can be accessed at Pacific Articles .