What should I know about SSL security?

Every day we hear stories of scams and confidence tricks on the Web. As a result, we want to be sure that we are dealing with a bone fide company when we shop online and we want to know we can trust that company with our information and our money. Confidence is critical to turning visitors into buyers.
 

Here’s a introduction to the things you should know as an online retailer.

What does SSL mean?

SSL stands for ‘Secure Socket Layer’ which is a cryptographic protocol that provides security for communications over networks such as the Internet. In layman’s terms this means SSL is a standard for transmitting information over the internet in an encrypted form so it can’t be intercepted and understood by unauthorised parties.
 

For an eCommerce Website, SSL must be enabled to ensure sensitive information, such as credit card details, is transmitted in encrypted form and can’t be intercepted and read by others.

SSL Certification

Trusted 3rd party companies such as Comodo provide certificates to show that a Website is operated by the company who says they operate the site, and SSL encryption is used. There is an application process and a charge for the issue of a certificate for a particular Website.
 

Find out more about SSL certification.

Extended Validation SSL

Extended Validation (EV) Certificates are a special type of SSL Certificate that require more extensive investigation of the operator of the Website by the certificate authority before being issued. By establishing stricter issuing criteria and requiring consistent application of those criteria by all participants, EV SSL certificates are intended to provide greater confidence among users that a Website operator is a legally established business or organization with a verifiable identity. EV SSL Certification was introduced in 2008.
 

Find out more about EV SSL certification.