Kids and teenagers tend to browse social networking sites a lot – it is where they get news, meet new friends and share pictures or videos among other things that they can do in these sites. But, social networking sites prove to make kids and teens vulnerable as they post personal information for the whole internet world to see, making them simple preys for online predators.
Here are some tips that will help in protecting kids and teens when they browse and use social networking sites:1.Know the site – you won’t know what you’re dealing with until you’ve checked it out for yourself. Read the privacy policy, terms of usage and conduct, find out which kinds of people use the site.2.Review pages – it would be best if you knew what your child or teen is putting on his/her profile page. Try to look at it objectively – meaning, you don’t intrude into their private lives as long as they aren’t doing anything incorrect. Although if you see something on their pages that are against your rules, talk to them about it and tell them to remove it.3.Set internet rules – just as you have house rules, you must be clear about setting some internet rules that the kids must abide with, otherwise, they lose their browsing privileges.4.Don’t let kids and teens meet anyone they met online – with all the news we hear about online predators and their young victims, I reckon this point is clear enough and self-explanatory. We don’t want our kids to be the next one to be reported.5.Private information should remain private – remind your kids and teens not to use their real names, or at the very least, not their full names. They should also know that home addresses, landline numbers, web messenger ids and cellphone numbers must not be publicly seen on their profiles. If possible, they shouldn’t be putting those at all.6.Look for alternatives – there are a lot of social networking sites today, and some offer a excellent security measure to avoid anything that we don’t want to happen. Especially to our children. Advice your kids and teens to set the privacy of their profiles, limiting the views only to people they personally know.7.Be cautious about media – photographs and personal videos must not give away personal details like addresses, schools and car plates. Be sure to check the pictures and videos that your children are uploading.8.Emotions should be kept in check – kids, teens especially, tend to post highly-emotional entries on their blogs that some social networking sites provide. Advise them not to do this often as they tend to become more vulnerable to online predators. Warn them about the danger they might be in if they keep posting their personal feelings this way.9.Use web filters – this can help in keeping your kids and teens away from the terrible sites, images, videos and other online materials that they should not be exposed to.10.Removing profile pages – if all else fails, you can contact the webmasters of the social networking sites your children belong to and question them to delete your child’s profile permanently.These are just some basic steps on how to protect your kids and teens from the dangers social networking sites may pose. There are other things that a parent can do if they feel that their child really is in danger, but it is always a excellent thought to apply the necessary precautions to avoid dealing with something larger and nastier in the future.
Posts Tagged ‘Security’
How Does Ssl Fit Into the Over Scheme of Internet Security?
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010Internet has become an integral part of our life. Most of us prefer to do maximum amount of transactions on the Internet. While doing many of these transactions, we tend to pass on very sensitive information like credit card numbers, credential information and so on, on the Internet. We always want to ensure that this sensitive information along with any other related information is kept secret while we use the Internet. One best way to ensure that all online transactions are secure is to make sure that the website consists of SSL certificates.
SSL is the small form of secure socket layer. Netscape made SSL protocol. SSL certificates are used widely in the Internet transactions to make them secure. Normally, this technology is used to encrypt vital information between the web servers and the client’s web browser by establishing an encrypted and secure link. This helps in making the information of the transaction private and secure. Millions of Internet transactions that happen everyday are using this technology to their advantage.
These SSL certificates are not only vital from the user perspective but they are also vital from the business perspective. Many of today’s online businesses need to collect so much of sensitive information from the customers. Just like in the case of an online payment in which you request very sensitive information, which includes credit card details, address and so on. To make sure that your customer believes your website and submits his information, you must have a SSL certificate for your website. These SSL certificates provide your site with the certificate that it is quite secure to do any of the transactions that they are intend to do. Hence, SSL certificates in crease your business and its brand in a very huge way, directly.
Some of the leading SSL providers include; Verisign, Rapidssl, Geotrust, Instantssl, and XRamp and many more. www.ssl.com now carries all these major brands of SSL certificates. You can get fantastic information regarding SSL certificates here. You can find which certificate best suits your business, if you are a business owner or you can find which certificate makes your transactions more secure, if you are an online user.
X-cart Security
Friday, January 1st, 2010X-Cart makes it simple for nearly anyone with the desire to establish an e-commerce store to do so, but not everyone has the background knowledge to know to address security issues. Many store owners start designing, adding products, and focusing on sales and SEO without ensuring that their x-cart e-commerce store is developed in a secure environment with a focus on security. Once established often x-cart store owners are not aware of what is required to maintain their x-cart in a manner that keeps it secure over time.
The purpose of this tutorial is to help you in understanding:
The importance of X-Cart security
Hosting X-Cart in a secure environment
How to secure your X-Cart
Maintenance of x-cart security
The importance of X-Cart security
Website security should always be a priority, but is absolutely crucial when dealing with e-commerce stores that transact and store sensitive customer data such as email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, and credit card information. Reading through the x-cart forums you will find many x-cart store owners who have had the misfortune of having their x-cart hacked/exploited. Having worked with x-cart since 2002, I’ve had many of those store owners come to me asking what can be done to fix their store, and I have repeatedly heard the common response that nobody had ever talked to them about security and they were unaware of anything that needed to be done. Believe me when I say that if you are not aware of what is required to secure and maintain your x-cart, it is by sheer luck that your x-cart has not been hacked or exploited and it is only a matter of time before you become a victim. That said, by reading this tutorial you are well on your way to understanding and performing x-cart security to keep you and your customers safe.
Hosting X-Cart in a secure environment
The environment on which your x-cart is hosted is the base for all security, and if your host and/or server is not secure, all the security settings on your x-cart are not going to keep you from being exploited. There are generally two types of hosting: a shared server where you buy a plot with a host and they provide you space for your site to reside on a server with many other clients, or a dedicated server, which is a computer where you can host your site(s) exclusively (a VPS is essentially a combination allowing dedicated server privileges in an environment shared with less users than with shared hosting).
Secured Shared Hosting
The main benefits of shared hosting is the reduced cost available by sharing the server with other users, and having the server company manage the server security. These same benefits can also pose a security threat but, as the sites of other clients can jeopardize your security if their sites are breached, and if you rely on a server company to secure a server and they fail to do so correctly, you can find yourself in serious distress. To combat these potential problems, it is imperative that you host with a trusted hosting provider who makes server security a priority. View our recommended X-Cart Hosting providers.
Dedicated Server
Unmanaged
I unfortunately often see x-cart store owners establish or go to an unmanaged dedicated server without knowing the onus of security that falls on them in doing so. When working with an unmanaged server, you are responsible for ALL server security. This includes the configuration of all your server settings, as well as keeping your kernel, os, php/mysql, control panel, etc. up-to-date as new branches and patches are released. This is a daunting task for anyone not very experienced with server security, and is not recommended for the average user.
Managed
Surprisingly, having a managed server does not necessarily mean your server is secure. When purchasing a managed plot, it is vital to know what the server provider will and won’t do as part of your managed plot; it is not uncommon for someone to established a managed server and setup their site(s) thinking the host will take care of security, only to find their server exploited to which the server company responds saying they only perform security tasks upon request. If you rely on your host for a fully managed security package it is vital that you work with a trusted hosting provider who takes security seriously, and ensure that all aspects of security are accounted for.
Server Management Companies
Personally, I recommend an unmanaged dedicated server package and then using the services of a server management company such as EZSM or ServerWizards. These companies will configure your initial security settings, place processes in place to manage your security, and keep your server up-to-date as upgrades and patches are made available.
How to secure your X-Cart
After securing the hosting environment, it is necessary to address security with x-cart itself. Taking the following steps will make fantastic strides in securing your x-cart:
Ensure you have a secure https connection for your store using a valid SSL certificate.
Do not use the “master” x-cart admin account. To change this, login using your “master” x-cart admin account, make a new administrator with a username that is less generic. Log in as that new user and delete the “master” user account.
Immediately password protect your admin and provider directories. You can usually password protect these directories using a control panel such as cPanel, or you can use .htaccess and .htpasswd files (run a quick google search if you are unsure how).
Be aware of your site’s file permissions, as having loose file permissions in conjunction with an exploit, can allow someone to write and do files on your website – this is a very common exploit against x-cart so take this seriously. In general your file chmod permissions should appear as follows:
File Type Permission
*.php 644
*.tpl 644
*.pl 755
*.sh 755
/catalog/ 777
/files/ 777
/images/ 777
/var/ 777
/var/* folders 777
/var/* files 666
Turn off the option of sending credit card information in e-mails in the General Settings -> E-Mail Options section of your x-cart admin section.
Unless you are using the subscriptions module, do not store credit card information in your database. To disable, or to ensure that this setting is disabled, open your config.php file and ensure the $store_cc variable is set to fake:
$store_cc = fake;
It is always a excellent thought to log into your x-cart admin section using https so that the data you transact during the x-cart session is encrypted. The following code will force your x-cart admins/providers to login using https:// by redirecting them when http:// is used.
Add this code to the .htaccess of your admin section (adjust your url):
# Force https on the admin section
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond % !443
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.your-domain.com/xcart-dir/admin/$1 [R=301,L]
Add this code to the .htaccess of your provider section (adjust your url):
# Force https on the provider section
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond % !443
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.your-domain.com/xcart-dir/provider/$1 [R=301,L]
The following .htaccess code, which can be placed in an .htaccess file in your store’s root directory (same directory as / and cart.php), will prevent access to sensitive areas of the x-cart file structure. If you are on a server that does not support .htaccess files, you will want to find alternate ways to block access to these files.
(NOTE: Change http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/ to the url to your error_message.php file.)
Options +SymlinksIfOwnerMatch -Indexes
RewriteEngine on
# Block access to sensitive directories
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/.pgp/.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/patch..*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/sql/.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/schemes/.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/skin1_original/.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/Smarty.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/upgrade/.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/var/.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
# Block access to sensitive file types
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*.(ini|tpl|sql|log|conf|bak)$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
# Block access to sensitive files
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/COPYRIGHT http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/INSTALL.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/NEW.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/README http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/UPGRADE.*$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/VERSION http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/include/version.php http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/config.php http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/top.inc.php http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
RedirectMatch permanent ^.*/install.php$ http://www.yourdomain.com/x-cart-path/error_message.php
Maintainance of x-cart security
A huge mistake I see with users of software is thinking they can setup the software and run the software for an indefinite period of time. It is imperative with x-cart, and all software you run for that matter, that you apply security patches and upgrade as new releases are available. While the patches and upgrades do require time and/or money to apply, neglecting to do so can be potentially fatal to your business and they need to be made a priority.
X-Cart provides security and release bulletins that you can sign up for in your x-cart client account. Be sure to sign-up for these bulletins and stay on top of your security.
Article copyright 2007 WebsiteCM.com and may be republished provided all content is left intact including author information, copyright notice and website links.
SSL: Site Security And Privacy
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009Netscape started using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) in 1994 as a means of sending sensitive data over the web. The newer edition of the service is called Transport Layer Security (TLS), although even this is routinely known by the SSL designation.
Before the introduction of SSL it was hard to ensure privacy over the web in online transactions. There was a general distrust of the ability to conduct online transactions and a dread that an individual’s credit card information could be picked up by a third party and used for unauthorized buys.
What makes SSL unique is an encryption technique that sends credit card and other personal data through the web. This encryption technique makes the information really useless to anyone who does not have decoding abilities. If a third party were to intercept the information it would be useless to them.
The use of SSL Digital Certificates also provides a unique level of trust because a certificate verifies the users authenticity. This is an vital step in instilling trust in potential customers. Many savvy consumers will avoid an online retailer entirely if they do not use SSL.
Without the proper use of SSL, information such as credit card numbers, third parties with less than positive motivations could obtain passwords and personal identification numbers.
A 128-bit key that is harder to break and typically protects personal account information than the 40-bit key. If your name and address is all that is being protected a 40-bit key may be used; the higher bit the key, the greater level of encryption. Most financial institutions only use 128-but keys for the security of their client’s data.
As an online marketer you will likely be asking your visitors for personal data. Don’t be surprised if your potential customer determines their willingness to do business with you based on the security of your website. Many customers will look for the SSL symbol and will go along if the don’t find it. SSL use can also be recognized by a lock symbol in the lower right hand corner of your browser window. If the symbol is unlocked then SSL is not in use on the site.
SSL should be enacted on pages requiring a password or might contain personal data most clients want to keep private. Some sites will place SSL on some pages and forget other pages that are equally as sensitive. For the sake of your personal experience with ecommerce you should implement SSL protocol.
Ssl Security and Why It’s So Important for your Business
Monday, December 28th, 2009SSL stands for secure socket layer. This is what is used in making transactions on the internet secure. Many companies use ssl “secure socket layer” to encrypt vital information. This could be for when people log into a website, use forms, securing shopping carts, etc.
Now I’m sure you may be wondering where to find a company that provides ssl “secure socket layer?” I find godaddy a inexpensive way to buy a ssl “secure socket layer” for any business.
Some helpful tips on purchasing a ssl certificate:
1. Choose a company that is reptable and provides the ssl “Secure Socket Layer that your in need of.”
2. You will need a dedicated Ip address.
What is a dedicated Ip Address? A dedicated IP address is a unique set of identifying numbers for a web site. No other website will be hosted on these numbers except for your website. This is very necessary for a e-commerce website. What is e-commerce you may question? E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. How do I get a dedicated Ip address? To get a dedicated Ip address you will need to contact the company that is hosting your website. You will need to pay for hosting and NOT try doing this on a free server or free hosting company.
3. Once you have chosen the company for your ssl “Secure Socket Layer” you will need to buy the service.
4. Once you have bought your ssl “Secure Socket Layer” you will need to go through the process of setting this on the provider of the ssl “Secure Socket Layer.”
5. Once you have bought your ssl “Secure Socket Layer” you will need to contact your hosting provider and have them setup the ssl information on the server.
6. A excellent example of a ssl certificate in use goto:Inspirational Hearts and click on secure connection.
Now I’m sure your asking your self why is this so vital for my Business? Thats a excellent question. To answer your question, many people that buy on the internet are wanting security. Getting a ssl “Secure Socket Layer” can help entice more sales.
Online Stores and E-commerce Stores Should not Ignore the Importance of Ssl Certificates to Gain Maintain Online Security
Saturday, December 26th, 2009It is possible for every piece of data to be seen by others unless it is secured by an SSL Certificate. Your customers won’t trust your web site without it.
Why does an Online Store would need SSL Certificate?
If you have an e-commerce website or an online store, you certainly need an SSL certificate!
• Ecommerce websites typically require a buyer to sign up on the website before he can buy online. The website gathers customers personal data and hence it should have an SSL
certificate to guarantee the safety of their details and information.
• SSL Certificates help you secure online payments. Most of the visitors now expect security as a part of any e-commerce website so that they can safely make a buy and provide their personal details and credit card numbers, they anticipate all the details provided by them over the Internet should be confidential and secure. Thus, SSL Certificate is as essential for any website as taking a Domain before developing a website.
• Enable you to boost your visitor conversion rates – increasing your profitability from the same level of traffic.
SSL Certificates help you increasing the conversion rates by providing an extra/added security feature on your site. You can hold back all those customers who would have left your website for trust and security related reasons
• Capitalize on the branding of the certificate provider and instill confidence in the customer – Retailers have an opportunity to capitalize on the brand power of the certificate provider itself to inspire consumer confidence and trust. The leading SSL certificate providers offer additional value added services in the form of site seals and trust indicators to further enhance the credibility of the retail site. As more and more retailers provide positive trust indicators on their web sites, so consumers are becoming more accustomed to and therefore relying upon those indicators. The strongest branding opportunity comes from the leading providers such as SSLGenie, whose branding adorns many of the top retail sites.
Consequences of not deploying an SSL on your website –
To run a successful online business its very vital to make trust in your customers and visitors, Your visitors will only make a buy after they feel that their details (Credit card information and personal data) will be in the safe hands. Thus for e-businesses, the key is to maintain trust for visitors and customers. And if you are not installing SSL Certificate, you may have to face following consequences –
• Your prospective customers will go to your Competitors.
• If the visitors will not find the trust indicators (SSL Certificates), they may loose the whole confidence in your brand, products and services, and this may degrade your goodwill.
• Customers may reject or deny to buy from your website and may not pass their confidential information like credit card details to you.
• It may decrease your visitor conversion rates and may effect your over all profitability
• Non Availability of SSL may have negative image of your business.
SSL (secure sockets layer) is a communications protocol which is now the global standard for security. SSL makes an encrypted link between a web server and a web browser to ensure that all data transmitted remains private and secure.
The Abc of Ssl: Super Duper Encrypted Security in an Age of Internet Commerce
Monday, December 21st, 2009Price for Progress
You have most probably viewed a digital SSL certificate in action by visiting sites where an “s” appears in the http:// of an address bar. The “s” stands for “secure” and indicates that data being exchanged by the web site and your Internet browser has been coded or encrypted. Additional proof of a secure web connection is provided through the appearance of a small padlock at the bottom of the browser. Internet Explorer 7 provides the added advantage of confirming a secure status through a color-coded address bar .
In case you have wondered how all this is articulated, wonder no more because we are here to tell you how.
Simple Definition
The abbreviation “SSL” stands for “secure socket layer” which is one of the many ways to code, scramble or encrypt online data. This form and level of encryption is achieved through the use of complex algorithms. Today, the standard level of encryption used when transmitting sensitive data over the Internet is called 256 bit SSL encryption. This form of digital data protection ensures that communication between a web site and your browser is first scrambled and coded at the point of departure and then subsequently decoded when it arrives at its chosen destination. In other words, even if the data is intercepted by a malicious software application or by a live individual, the data is not compromised in any way, shape or form.
SSL Certificate Wish List
Like everything technical, SSL certificates come in various strengths and combinations. Which SSL certificate is best for you depends largely on the type of e-commerce company you operate, your transaction volume and the level of browser access you wish to provide to your customers. Your SSL certificate vendor is in a position to perform a needs assessment on your site and recommend the right digital SSL certificate for you.
Standard SSL Certificate
For starters, there is the simple, garden variety vanilla SSL certificate which provides protection only to a single domain also known as FDQN or Fully Qualified Domain name. The most well loved versions of web browsers currently in use such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Safari are fully compatible with this certificate. This SSL certificate is incompatible with sub-domains. If you have more than one sub-domain which you need to secure, you have a better option available which we will explore in a moment.
SGC SSL Certificate
The second category of digital SSL certificates is called the SGC certificate. SGC stands for server gated cryptography and essentially allows you or your online customers to use ancient 40 bit legacy browsers to step up to 128 or 256 bit capacity and thus provide an added layer of security. This SSL certificate costs much more than the starter SSL certificate described above and may not be worth the extra expense.
EV SSL Certificate
EV SSL certificates provide an unprecedented level of security and protection through confirmed identity assurance. Until the advent of this certificate, your customers had no visible indication on the browser to confirm that you were a legitimate and a verified enterprise. EV SSL certificates work in tandem with all well loved browsers and indicate through a symbol of trust, a green address bar or even a clearly spelled out message, that your corporate identity has been verified by the SSL certificate authority. This process of verification is implemented by asking you to submit corporate documentation such as licenses, articles of incorporation, bank statements, phone bills and other forms of verifiable evidence. Internet Explorer 7 currently provides the maximum amount of information to site visitors about the nature of this SSL protection. The address bar in Internet Explorer 7 has been programmed to change colors to reflect the security level of the connection. The address bar turns green when the SSL encryption is fully in place. Additionally, this browser also displays the name of the SSL certificate provider as well as the name of the certifying authority. Since these attributes are available only in EV SSL certificates in conjunction with Internet Explorer 7, investing in this class of SSL certificates is worth a serious consideration. If you happen to be an established Internet commerce company and have the funds to invest in this class of SSL certificates, this might be the right protection package for you and your customers.
Wildcard SSL Certificate
A wildcard digital SSL certificate is ideal for you if you have a need to secure a primary domain and a host of sub-domains through data encryption. Under normal circumstances, SSL certificates tend to secure only a single primary domain or a sub-domain. For instance, if you had one primary domain such as http://mybook.com and two sub-domains such as http://library.mybook.com and http://research.mybook.com, you would have to invest in three separate SSL certificates. A single wildcard SSL certificate, on the other hand, can protect not only the primary domain but an unlimited number of sub-domains. This results in significant cost savings for those who need this level and quality of protection.
SSL Certificate Bottom Line
Digital SSL certificates can start from as low as $70 and can go all the way up to several thousand dollars depending on the class and strength of certificates you require. SSL certificates have a dated validity and usually expire in one year. To save money, it is best to buy certificates with multiple year validity and shop around carefully during renewal time. The price for an SSL certificate typically includes the cost of customer support, distress shooting and a warranty to cover losses arising out of protection failure in rare instances.
To Buy or not to Buy
Everyone knows that the Internet has made new avenues and opportunities for e-commerce. Unfortunately, this unbridled growth has also stirred up the criminal element. Until now Internet commerce companies did not have a viable solution to this rather serious problem, but now we do in the form of potent digital SSL technology which guarantees unparalleled cyber protection to one and all. More information about SSL with Purpose can be found at http://ssl.live2support.com
SSL Certificate and Cyber Security
Monday, December 21st, 2009Since last 20 to 25 years world is rapidly changed to cyber world. Cyber made all things quick and closest. Living miles away, people can see, speak, and live as sitting on coffee table. Cyber innovation changed the growth of world beyond imagination in last 25 years. When a computer was invented it was a giant and now people use it as notebook. Technology is developing rapidly with unmeasured growth. A rapid growth of cyber required security and safety. People started talking online, shopping online, banking online even getting married online. Let’s talk about cyber security, many online shoppers, sellers and bankers were abused by Hackers (Kind of thieves). These thieves were major problem on cyber invention. People started feeling unsecure started avoiding online dealings. Innovation is on growth and did not want to stop or running back to zero. Technology gurus found key to secure online data and this key is SSL certificate. What are hackers and hacking? Hackers are thieves who try to gain un-authorized access to your computer via network or program. Stealing data from computer or network is called hacking. Like as thieves Hackers do not knock your door. They get un-authorized access and start stealing your personal data. You realize once see loose of data, money and everything Who invented SSL certificate? SSL certificates are developed on protocol SSL (Secure Socket Layer) by Netscape in 1994. Netscape used encryption and decryption technology to make data unreadable for hackers. Incase hackers steal encrypted data then even he can not read get right data. Later technology established SSL certificate standards and authorized few organizations to work as SSL certificate issuer. They are called SSL CA – Certificate Authorities. Few of them are VeriSign, GeoTrust, Thawte, Equifax, Entrust, Global Sign, RapidSSL, Comodo. All these CAs are authorized for issuing Web Trust certificates. SSL technology started supporting up to 256 bit encryption to secure online data. Conclusion: As online shopper, seller or banker trust only SSL certificate website. Real merchants always used SSL certificate securing customer credit card details and private information. Do not get abused with excellent web designs and words, as scammers always use such scamming thoughts. Trust only SSL certificate secured websites.
SSL Certificate and Ecommerce security
Monday, December 21st, 2009Why only few customers use my website out of thousands?
Buyer always check online store (E-commerce) prior to payment process. It is fantastic that you offer excellent price and excellent service, but what if your website is not secured for safe payment process. As a new ecommerce businessman or non technical person or as an online buyer you should check this ‘Is this website secured for safe payment process?’ Well first I will let you know hacker safe website always starts with HTTPS://. Website only using HTTP:// is not a secure website as it does not support data security.
How to seller achieve SSL certificate for website?
SSL certificates are used to provide data security over online website. SSL certificates are kind of security certificate and issued by third party (CA-Certificate Authority). Website owner has to apply for website security SSL certificate for along with business and website ownership identity. CA follows domain and business verification process and only issue SSL for genuine request. If seller failed to verify then CA will not issue SSL certificate. Somehow we always used to trust third party verification. There are many CAs like VeriSign, GeoTrust, COMODO, Thawte, RapidSSL, GlobalSign, etc. All this CAs now offering their reseller to sell SSL certificates direct to customers. Resellers are only used to sell SSL certificates the verification and SSL issuance process will be handled by CA it self. So it is safe buying SSL from resellers.
How SSL secures online data?
SSL certificate is developed on basis of data encryption and decryption technology. SSL certificates are used to support 128 to 256 bit encryption and decryption. Seller has to install SSL certificate on his website where is host the website. Once the website is successfully installed with SSL then SSL security site seal should be enabled on home page of website. Now anyone browse website from any PC anywhere in the world, enters CC or personal information. These all content will be encrypted before it travel from PC to Server. So data is secured on road. No one can decrypt and read this data. Only seller website server can encrypt and read this. This is type of End to End strong security.
Running a SSL secured ecommerce website will increase your customer trust and this trust will lead you to more business. I believe is as a buyer or seller always use only SSL certificate secured website. Thus you will never get abused with private data stealing or money loses.