An SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate, an indispensable part of connection security, ensures a website’s identity during digital transactions and prior to confidential data being transmitted. An SSL is the combination of SSL and TSL protocols, which give you, encrypted communications over a computer network. SSL Certificates are the basic protocol that has grounded the principles of HTTPS encryption. These cryptographic tools are widely used by an online merchant or business that is receiving and sending sensitive information such as credit cards, banking information, and more.
SSL certificate creates an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. When someone visits your site, an SSL Certificate assures them that the site is what it claims to be, preventing anyone from being able to listen in on the data that is passing between you and your customer. It can help increase your conversion rates as customers will feel more confident completing transactions on your website. HTTPs protects against man-in-the-middle attacks, interception of traffic by third parties, packet sniffing (threats such as cookie stealing), breakage of session (cross-site scripting), and denial of service attack. When a certificate is installed, there is a green bar code to indicate safety. This bar operates in association with the common name of the website and company that has been accessed to download and install the certificate file in order for communication with those sites to be encrypted for true confidentiality.
SSL provides encryption between a web server and the browser. Unlike HTTP, which sends everything in plain text – including authentication credentials and credit card details – SSL encrypts data over the network, authenticating webserver, and allowing it to decrypted all of that data.
Types of SSL
There are two types of SSL certificates: Domain Validation (DV) and Organization Validation (OV). The former is the most lightweight and least expensive option. The latter has more features like site seal or extended validation that utilizes some other form of identification. OVs use a black letter mark in parenthesis at the end of the website address; do not confuse with domain name which can have www. or http://.
How Does SSL Work?
A certificate designates a site as trustworthy so that transactions with the site can happen securely. With an SSL certificate, when web browsers (like Google Chrome) contact your website, they look to the company that you purchased your SSL Certificate from to verify whether they should protect your visitors and transmit their personal data securely. Your Certificate Authority, or CA, can validate the domain name associated with your website and create a trust between you and your visitors — proving that you’re really who you claim to be.
Which SLL is Free?
LetsEncrypt, a free and open certificate authority (CA) is run by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG). It encourages a searchable send and provides open-source certificates for all domains.
Final Verdict:
Now Google has been using HTTPS as a ranking signal in their search results, meaning that the more secure a website or web page is, the more likely it would be chosen in the search results over an unsecure site. It also implies that unsecure sites will be bumped down on Google’s page rankings. Happily for website owners and developers everywhere, there are many types of encryption that can be used to generate HTTPS certificates and each one is affected differently by this change. Make sure if you have website you can also ask your hosting provider to apply these certificates to your website so that your customers can feel safe when they browse your website.
