SSL is the foundation of our stable Internet and safeguards the sensitive information as it moves through computer networks around the world. SSL is important to protect your website although it does not handle sensitive information such as credit cards. It offers anonymity, essential protection and data integrity both for your websites and the personal data of your users.

SSL Encrypts Sensitive Information

The primary reason for using SSL is to keep sensitive information sent over the Internet encrypted so that only the intended recipient may access the information. This is important because the information you send on the Internet is transferred to the destination server from computer to computer. If it is not secured with an SSL certificate, every device between you and the server can see your credit card numbers, usernames, passwords and other sensitive information. When using an SSL certificate the information is unreadable to all except for the server to which you send the information. This will protect it from hackers and theft of identity.

SSL Provides Authentication

For addition to encryption, authentication always comes with a valid SSL certificate. It ensures that you can be sure that you give the information to the right server and not to an impostor trying to steal your information. Why does it matter? The nature of the Internet means your customers can often send information through multiple computers. Any of these machines may claim to be your website and send personal information to your users.  This can only be done by receiving an SSL Certificate from a reputable SSL service provider.

Why do SSL Providers matter? Trusted SSL providers will issue only an SSL certificate to a verified company, which has passed several identity checks. Other forms of SSL certificates, such as EV SSL Certificates, require validation more than others. How do you know if you trust an SSL Provider? You can use our SSL Wizard to compare the SSL providers that most web browsers have included. Web browser manufacturers check that SSL providers follow specific practices and are audited by a third party using a WebTrust standard.

SSL Provides Trust

Web browsers have visual indicators, such as a lock icon or green bar, to ensure that visitors know when their connection is secure. It means that when they see these signs, they will trust your website more and will be more likely to buy from you. SSL providers will also give you a seal of trust that will instill more faith in your customers.

HTTPS also defends against phishing attacks. A phishing email is a fraudulent email that tries to impersonate your website. Generally the email includes a link to their own website, or a man-in – the-middle attack is use to use your own domain name. Since it is very difficult for these offenders to get a valid SSL certificate, they won’t be able to impersonate your web perfectly. This means that your users will be far less likely to fall for a phishing attack because they will look for the signs of confidence in their browser, such as a green address bar, and will not see it.

SSL is require for PCI Compliance

To accept credit card information on your website, you will pass such assessments that show that you follow the Payment Card Industry (PCI) requirements. One of the criteria is to use a SSL Certificate properly.

Disadvantages of SSL

Why would anyone use SSL with so many advantages? Is there any problem with using SSL certificates? Cost is a noticeable disadvantage. SSL providers need to set up a trustworthy network and verify the identity so costs are involve. Growing competition in the industry and the advent of companies such as Let’s Encrypt have supported this. A further downside for SSL is efficiency. Because the server has to encrypt the information you send. It takes more server resources than if the information wasn’t encrypt. The difference in performance is only significant for websites with very large numbers of users. In such cases can be reduce with special hardware.

Overall, there are few drawbacks to using SSL, and far outweigh the benefits. It’s critical that all websites use SSL properly. Proper use of SSL certificates will help protect your customers, protect you. It help you build confidence and sell more to your customers.