When installed on a web server, it activates the padlock and the https protocol (over port 443) and allows secure connections from a web server to a browser.
SSL is used to secure credit card transactions, data transfer and logins, and more recently is becoming the norm when securing browsing of social media sites. Many customers will refuse to do business with a website that doesn't have an SSL certificate. Displaying your SSL Site Seal tells customers they can shop with confidence, knowing they're protected. Different certificates provide different levels of validation.
An organisation or an individual blogger website needs to install the SSL Certificate onto its web server to initiate secure sessions with browsers. Once installed, it is possible to connect to the website over https://www.domain.com, as this tells the server to establish a secure connection with the browser. Once a secure connection is established, all web traffic between the web server and the web browser will be secure. Browsers tell visitors a website is SSL secure via several visible trust indicators
What is SSL?
SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This secure link ensures that all data transferred remains private. It's also called TLS (Transport Layer Security). Millions of websites use SSL encryption everyday to secure connections and keep their customer's data safe from monitoring and tampering.
SSL is visible to users in several ways in the website address bar:- A lock icon in the browser bar
- The website address starting with https://
Why websites use SSL
SSL is one of the most widely reviewed and adopted security tools on the Internet today. It is essential to keeping the Internet safe and secure. An increasing number of websites adopt SSL for various reasons:- Security: ensure that no one is intercepting web traffic
- Trust: by displaying a green lock image, the website increases visitor's trust
- Search ranking boost: Google ranks sites that have SSL higher in search results
- Regulatory compliance: financial institutions and web stores that work with credit cards must comply with regulations and adopt SSL on their websites
