Many people know about the importance of an SSL certificate when it comes to internet banking, or when exchanging sensitive information with a Government service, indeed - trust and assurance is given when the little lock is seen immediately to the left of the URL in the address bar of your browser.
Why is SSL important?
While many people realise the importance of SSL for internet banking or Government services, many people don't realise the importance when it comes to their own web sites' security, often leading to the interception of sensitive information relating to customers, and people who exchange information with them.
An SSL certificate ensures that data is both held and transmitted securely using an encrypted Secure Server Layer of the (HTTPS) protocol.
What is an SSL certificate?
SSL stands for Secure Server Layer, and an SSL certificate is assigned to domain names in the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), typically when there is an identified need to ensure data and information is encrypted at both the source (originator), and the destination (receiver), and that the data is encrypted when transmitted through this protocol.
The key method of determining whether you're sending or exchanging information via a website using an encrypted connection is by seeing the 'S' in the 'HTTPS' of the prefix in the address bar of your browser.
WebGo highly recommends all clients on its network to utilise, and use an SSL certificate, to ensure that customer data is both held and transmitted securely. Additionally, popular search engines (such as Google) often rank websites lower in their scoring algorithm when SSL is not implemented, and when it's not implemented correctly.
How does SSL work?
The process of establishing a secure connection is called an SSL/TLS handshake. This virtual handshake takes place between the two parties involved in the data communication: the client and the server.
As far as encryption goes, an SSL certificate encrypts the data using an asymmetric method, asymmetric encryption involves two distinct, yet mathematically related - keys. The first is the public key, and the other a private key.
The public key, as the name suggests, is publicly available and is used to encrypt the data. The private key however, is kept secret, and stored on the web server, and it's used to decrypt the data.
How do I order, purchase, and install an SSL certificate from WebGo?
An SSL certificate can be purchased through WebGo's industry leading ordering system, and can be issued upon successful purchase of the certificate. Instructions are then emailed on how-to install the SSL certificate successfully, and additional installation and set-up assistance can be provided (if using the certificate with a WebGo web hosting service) by WebGo's technical support team. Additional assistance can also be provided (for a fee) for customers who purchase SSL certificates through WebGo, but who utilise other providers of web hosting.
