Secure Socket Layers (SSL)

Ecommerce has become increasingly popular over the last couple of decades. In fact, many consumers purchase at least 50% of their goods and services over the internet. As a business owner, this can mean big profits. The convenience of the internet has opened the doors of opportunity for merchants and customers, but it has also opened the door for those who want to take advantage of this fact and commit fraud. SSL is commonly used in ecommerce. It stands for Secure Socket Layer. In basic terms, SSL takes personal and private information like social security and credit card numbers, and encrypts them so that hackers and scam artists cannot easily access them. SSL has become normal practice for just about every website that processes any form of payments or private information online. SSL was first created in 1994, and has since become a household name among website programmers. You will know you are entering an SSL protected site when you see the small lock at the bottom of your browser, and the website begins with https instead of just http.

Something called an SSL certificate is also part of the encryption process. This certificate comes in two basic forms of encryption: 40 bit and 128 bit. It's been said that several 40 bit sites have been "broken into', or hacked, so it's recommended that you go with the 128 bit instead. SSL certificates must be purchased from different vendors. There are several important things to look for when choosing an SSL vendor. Obviously the first thing to do is to ask around and find out the vendor's reputation and reliability. Next, make sure they are using easy to install and use SSL certificates, and that these certificates are able to be embedded in all browsers such as Opera and Firefox, and not just in Microsoft Explorer. Getting the most security out of your SSL will help to ensure that all of your clients and customers are fully protected, saving your company huge amounts in liability.