What SSL Actually Does for You?

SSL is the acronym for Secure Sockets Layer and is the Internet standard security

technology used to establish an encrypted (or safe) link between a web server

(website) and your browser (i.e. Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, etc…). This

secured link ensures that the data/information that is passed from your web

browser to the web server remain private; meaning safe from hackers or anyone

trying to spy/steal that info. SSL is the industry standard and is used by millions of

websites to protect and secure any sensitive or private data that is sent through

their website. One of the most common things SSL is used for is protecting a

customer during an online transaction.

To establish a secured SSL connection on a web server it requires an SSL

Certificate to be properly installed. When completing the process to activate SSL

on your web server you will be asked to complete a number of questions to verify

the identity of your domain and your company. Once properly completed, your

web server will create 2 types of cryptographic keys – one is called a Private Key

and the other is called the Public Key.

The Public Key isn’t a secret and it’s placed into something called a Certificate

Signing Request or most commonly referred to as the CSR. The CSR is a file that

contains all the data of your details. Once this CSR is generated, you can begin the

SSL application process. During this process, the Certification Authority (CA) will

go through the validation process to verify your submitted details and then once

verified will issue an SSL Certificate with your details and allow you to use SSL.

Your web server will automatically match the CA issued SSL Certificate to your

Private Key. This means you are now ready to establish an encrypted and secure

link between your website and your customer's web browser.

SSL protocol is complex, but the complexities always remain invisible to your

customers. Instead the browser they are using provides them with a key indicator

letting them know that their session is currently protected by an SSL encryption –

sometimes it is the lock icon in the lower right-hand corner, or the addition of an

 

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“s” in https rather than just http, on high-end SSL Certificates, a key indicator is

the green bar in the browser. Clicking on the indicators will display all the details

about it. All trusted Certification Authorities issue SSL Certificates to either legit

companies or legally accountable individuals.

Generally speaking, SSL Certificates include and display (at least one or all) your

domain name, your company name, your address, your city, your state and your

country. It also always has an expiration date of that particular certificate and of

course the details of the Certification Authority responsible for issuing the

certificate. Browser connect to a secured site and then retrieves the site's SSL

Certificate and first makes sure that it has not expired, then it checks to see if it

was issued by a known Certification Authority that the browser trusts, and then

that it is actually being used by the website that is was actually issued to. If any

one of these parameters does not check out properly, the browser will display a

warning to the user to let them know that this site is not secure by SSL. It says to

leave or proceed with extreme caution. That is the last thing you would want to

say to your potential customer. That is why SSL is of high importance to any

successful company doing business on the web.

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