What You Need To Know About SSL
SSL is what makes the internet secure enough to send sensitive information. Why do you need an SSL cert? .Chrome 68 version of the Chrome browser in July which will label websites without SSL certificates as not secure. This video covers the advantages of SSL such as user trust, security, privacy protection against phishing attacks.
What is SSL
SSL stands for secure sockets layer. it is a protocol (an agreed upon set of steps a for doing something) by which a client and server send information in the case of websites the client is a browser sending information to a website located on a server. to protect this information from a third party the system uses two keys to encrpyt data and decrpt it when it reches its destination. This means that if someone intercepts your message your information unreadable without the keys. When you send information over the internet it's passed from one computer to a destination. any computer between the sender and the destination can intercept credit card numbers usernames or passwords and other sensitive information. for that reason you want the information to be readable by only who it is intended for. encrypting it makes it unreadable
SSL is what makes the internet secure enough to send sensitive information even if your website doesn't handle sensitive information like credit cards the SSL provides privacy critical security and data integrity your website and the user's personal information.
One thing that an SSL does is it provide web browsers give indications like the lock icon or the green bar to let visitors know that their connection is secure.
provides trust for the user in your website
SSL providers also will give you a trust seal that gives even more trust to your customers
for example if you click on this particular certificate it tells you you were connected to PayPal who PayPal is and the verifying entity which is verisign in this case and that your connection is encrypted and you want this to ensure your users that their information is safe and private
We talked about the many advantages but are there any disadvantages of SSL?
Yes. Cost is the most obvious disadvantage.
But that has been made easier with the introduction of Certificate providers like Lets Encrypt let's encrypt is a non-profit CA that has been around since 2016 and it allows you to get a 3-month certificate for free. If you are unsure about what you need in terms of protection your website Let's encrypt is a good way to test out SSL encryption before you invest much money in it.The SSL by Let's Encrypt is essentially free and fairly easy to install
SSL is the standard for dealing with credit cards the industry-standard related to credit cards is called PCI payment card industry standard if your site is to be compliance you must have the SSL certificate so if you taking credit cards on your site you must have an SSL
Another Advantage is that it protects against phishing attacks In Phishing attacks, hackers try to impersonate your website with emails. These emails will usually link to the Hacker's website that pretends to be your using your domain. But because is very difficult to fabricate the SSL certificate they won't be able to do a good impersonation. Your users will be less likely to fall for a phishing attack because they'll be looking for the trust indicators. Their browser will not have the green address bar.
Authentication means you are insured that you are sending information to the right server and not an imposter trying to steal your information.
SSL uses public key infrastructure (PKI) and a trusted CA (Certificate Authority) to provide security.
SSL providers only issue SSL certificates to verified companies, using identity checks to prove they are who they say they are.
Besides regular SSL there are EV Certificates. They are designed to prevent phishing attacks better than normal SSL certificates. They require more validation to receive them.
Issuing authorities will verify additional things like
your organization not being on any government blacklists
Google will release the Chrome 68 version of the Chrome browser in July which will label websites without SSL certificates as "not secure". Mozilla, maker of Firefox, is planning to do the same. Both have changed their UI on their browsers to show the padlock icon and the label SECURE for sites with SSL.