Find out about Secure Sockets Layer and how they can help you:
With people having the ability to read the information of other folk, the Internet is not as safe as it once was. Hackers are people who are able to uncover the information that people pass on websites. It is also possible for them to get hold of confidential data like credit card details or passwords. Many hackers also have the ability to offer their own version of another person's website and this can be hosted on their own server. This is done to fool customers who may be unaware of these issues. The majority of hackers act to obtain information that is of value and interest about people. One way of combating these hackers is by using the Secure Sockets Layer or SSL.
Since 1994 when it was developed by Netscape, the SSL has developed into a security technology that is now recognized as an standard across the world. It works in a way to ensure that a secure link between a server and a browser. All OF this adds up to making sure that any information that is passed between parties remains secure. The security can be seen the padlock emblem that appears on screen. Many e-Business companies appreciate this opportunity to safeguard the information of their customers as well as ensuring the confidentiality of any transactions that take place
The Certificate for SSL:
A SSL Certificate offered by the Certification Authorities (also known as CA) is essential for any web server that wishes to use the protocol of the Secure Sockets Later. Many questions will be asked about your firm and its identity and from here you can choose to run the SSL on your own web server. Two cryptographic keys are generated, one is a Public Key, one is a Private Key, both originate from the web server. The public key does not allow backdoor entry or hidden methods. The key is held in a data file with the rest of your information; this data file is called a CSR, a Certificate Signing Request. The next task will be to submit this CSR. The CA will then go about verifying the information contained within the CSR and this will undertake the SSL Certificates process. After this, another certificate from SSL will be provided and this certificate will hold all the details and information to enable SSL use. The certificate for SSL is linked by the web server to the Private Key. This means a secure and coded link will be created between the visitors' browser and your very own site.
None of these actions are witnessed by the visitor. They will be able to see they key symbol that will inform them that SSL encryption is providing a level of protection for them. If they wish to find out more details about the SSL certificate they can click on the lock icon which can be found in the right hand bottom corner of their screen. It is usually with people who can be held accountable and firms who are legally registered that these certificates are provided to.
The usual information contained within an SSL Certificate will usually provide country, state, city, and address, name of the company and the domain name of the site. The expiration date of the certificate will also be included as will further information about the Certification Authority that holds the responsibility for issuing the certificates. If the browser of the visitor connects to the secured site, the SSL certificate will be unable to retrieve the SSL certificate from the site. A quick search in the veracity of the sites SSL certificate will be undertaken and that it has been allocated to the website claiming it is for. Another check will also be undertaken on the date of expiry for the certificate. If for any reason the certificate does not pass all the questions asked of it, there will be a warning displayed to the final user.
The consumers are now much more comfortable with the golden padlock, which appears within their browser display. It is now considered as an indication of trust in the web site. In fact, this simple fact gives an e-Business provider an opportunity to influence the increased trust level in order to transform visitors into paying customers. All kinds of ecommerce shopping carts and sites that allow you to collect secure information on your website use SSL Certificates. However, it is also essential to keep in mind that while you use a secure server certificate with a form and get the result emailed to you, the email is not secure at all.
Functions that are new to users:
There is an improved version of SSL v2 and it is called SSL v3. This version offers support for authenticating certificates and it now has SHA-1 based ciphers. It is true that some flaws were in SLL v2 such as when cryptographic keys were indistinguishable in addition to the authentication process for messages. There was also no provision in the previous version to secure the handshake process which meant that a downgrade attack from the "man in the middle" could occur with no one being any the wiser.
Another improvement has come with the Transport Layer Security taking over from the Secure Sockets Layer. The TSL has been clearly influenced by SSL and has taken many uses and styles that are synonymous with Microsoft and Netscape browsers in addition to a great number of products utilizing Web server capabilities. Today, it is common for SSL to utilize public and private key encryption that is able to provide a digital certificate.
Do you have a need for an SSL Certificate? People who appreciate privacy and ask for it from others need to buy SSL:
* You will need to purchase the Secure Sockets Layer Certificate if you value privacy and expect others to trust your website and service.
* If you have an online store or accept online orders through credit cards you will need an SSL Certificate in order to safeguard the confidential information of your customers.
If you have a need to process information such as telephone numbers, ID numbers, license numbers, date of births or addresses then an SSL certificate can aid this process.
* If you process data like date of births, addresses, telephone numbers, licenses or ID numbers then as SSL certificate is required to process this securely.
* If in case your business partners log in to private information on an extranet, an SSL Certificate helps you to protect them from hackers.
Beneficial data to consider when buying SSL Certificates:
* The need to balance budget with your requirements is an important factor in which SSL certificate you buy from the numerous providers. There are many different packages available at a whole host of prices. A quick check of the Open Directory Project shows there are 22 third parties and that there in excess of 20 root certificates that can be utilized with Internet Explorer and Firefox. As with most industries though, the genre is dominated by a few firms battling on price.
There was a survey undertaken by Netcraft in 2005 which set out to find the largest vendor that offers SSL certificates. This was followed in January 2007 when Security Space set out to undertake a similar project. This latter survey listed a few firms as being highly rated. These sites include Equifax represented by its GeoTrust subsidiary (www.equifax.com), VeriSign which was represented by the Thawte subsidiary (www.verisign.com), in addition to GoDaddy/Starfield (www.godaddy.com), Digicert (www.digicert.com) as well as Comodo (www.comodo.com).
It can be seen that depending on what form of measurement is used, these six providers cover 95% of the market in this industry. The largest market share is held by Verisign with about 72% market share with Comodo coming next with around 18%. Geotrust has around 3.4% market share and GoDaddy and Entrust contain about 1% and 2.5% of the market share. The remaining providers comprise about 3 or 4% on average of the market.
With people having the ability to read the information of other folk, the Internet is not as safe as it once was. Hackers are people who are able to uncover the information that people pass on websites. It is also possible for them to get hold of confidential data like credit card details or passwords. Many hackers also have the ability to offer their own version of another person's website and this can be hosted on their own server. This is done to fool customers who may be unaware of these issues. The majority of hackers act to obtain information that is of value and interest about people. One way of combating these hackers is by using the Secure Sockets Layer or SSL.
Since 1994 when it was developed by Netscape, the SSL has developed into a security technology that is now recognized as an standard across the world. It works in a way to ensure that a secure link between a server and a browser. All OF this adds up to making sure that any information that is passed between parties remains secure. The security can be seen the padlock emblem that appears on screen. Many e-Business companies appreciate this opportunity to safeguard the information of their customers as well as ensuring the confidentiality of any transactions that take place
The Certificate for SSL:
A SSL Certificate offered by the Certification Authorities (also known as CA) is essential for any web server that wishes to use the protocol of the Secure Sockets Later. Many questions will be asked about your firm and its identity and from here you can choose to run the SSL on your own web server. Two cryptographic keys are generated, one is a Public Key, one is a Private Key, both originate from the web server. The public key does not allow backdoor entry or hidden methods. The key is held in a data file with the rest of your information; this data file is called a CSR, a Certificate Signing Request. The next task will be to submit this CSR. The CA will then go about verifying the information contained within the CSR and this will undertake the SSL Certificates process. After this, another certificate from SSL will be provided and this certificate will hold all the details and information to enable SSL use. The certificate for SSL is linked by the web server to the Private Key. This means a secure and coded link will be created between the visitors' browser and your very own site.
None of these actions are witnessed by the visitor. They will be able to see they key symbol that will inform them that SSL encryption is providing a level of protection for them. If they wish to find out more details about the SSL certificate they can click on the lock icon which can be found in the right hand bottom corner of their screen. It is usually with people who can be held accountable and firms who are legally registered that these certificates are provided to.
The usual information contained within an SSL Certificate will usually provide country, state, city, and address, name of the company and the domain name of the site. The expiration date of the certificate will also be included as will further information about the Certification Authority that holds the responsibility for issuing the certificates. If the browser of the visitor connects to the secured site, the SSL certificate will be unable to retrieve the SSL certificate from the site. A quick search in the veracity of the sites SSL certificate will be undertaken and that it has been allocated to the website claiming it is for. Another check will also be undertaken on the date of expiry for the certificate. If for any reason the certificate does not pass all the questions asked of it, there will be a warning displayed to the final user.
The consumers are now much more comfortable with the golden padlock, which appears within their browser display. It is now considered as an indication of trust in the web site. In fact, this simple fact gives an e-Business provider an opportunity to influence the increased trust level in order to transform visitors into paying customers. All kinds of ecommerce shopping carts and sites that allow you to collect secure information on your website use SSL Certificates. However, it is also essential to keep in mind that while you use a secure server certificate with a form and get the result emailed to you, the email is not secure at all.
Functions that are new to users:
There is an improved version of SSL v2 and it is called SSL v3. This version offers support for authenticating certificates and it now has SHA-1 based ciphers. It is true that some flaws were in SLL v2 such as when cryptographic keys were indistinguishable in addition to the authentication process for messages. There was also no provision in the previous version to secure the handshake process which meant that a downgrade attack from the "man in the middle" could occur with no one being any the wiser.
Another improvement has come with the Transport Layer Security taking over from the Secure Sockets Layer. The TSL has been clearly influenced by SSL and has taken many uses and styles that are synonymous with Microsoft and Netscape browsers in addition to a great number of products utilizing Web server capabilities. Today, it is common for SSL to utilize public and private key encryption that is able to provide a digital certificate.
Do you have a need for an SSL Certificate? People who appreciate privacy and ask for it from others need to buy SSL:
* You will need to purchase the Secure Sockets Layer Certificate if you value privacy and expect others to trust your website and service.
* If you have an online store or accept online orders through credit cards you will need an SSL Certificate in order to safeguard the confidential information of your customers.
If you have a need to process information such as telephone numbers, ID numbers, license numbers, date of births or addresses then an SSL certificate can aid this process.
* If you process data like date of births, addresses, telephone numbers, licenses or ID numbers then as SSL certificate is required to process this securely.
* If in case your business partners log in to private information on an extranet, an SSL Certificate helps you to protect them from hackers.
Beneficial data to consider when buying SSL Certificates:
* The need to balance budget with your requirements is an important factor in which SSL certificate you buy from the numerous providers. There are many different packages available at a whole host of prices. A quick check of the Open Directory Project shows there are 22 third parties and that there in excess of 20 root certificates that can be utilized with Internet Explorer and Firefox. As with most industries though, the genre is dominated by a few firms battling on price.
There was a survey undertaken by Netcraft in 2005 which set out to find the largest vendor that offers SSL certificates. This was followed in January 2007 when Security Space set out to undertake a similar project. This latter survey listed a few firms as being highly rated. These sites include Equifax represented by its GeoTrust subsidiary (www.equifax.com), VeriSign which was represented by the Thawte subsidiary (www.verisign.com), in addition to GoDaddy/Starfield (www.godaddy.com), Digicert (www.digicert.com) as well as Comodo (www.comodo.com).
It can be seen that depending on what form of measurement is used, these six providers cover 95% of the market in this industry. The largest market share is held by Verisign with about 72% market share with Comodo coming next with around 18%. Geotrust has around 3.4% market share and GoDaddy and Entrust contain about 1% and 2.5% of the market share. The remaining providers comprise about 3 or 4% on average of the market.
About the Author:
About author: Gregory Trune is a staff writer for WebHostingMadness.com and web hosting industry blogger. Visit WebHostingMadness.com to read his reviews and ratings of the top web hosting companies each month.
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