SSL Certificate — A Beginner Guide
You might have noticed that some URLs start with HTTP:// and some other start with HTTPS:// What is that extra “s” mean to the website? Where does it come from? That extra “s” means your connection to the website is encrypted and secured. The technology with that extra “s” is called SSL, which primarily stands for “Security Socket Layer”
Due to its numerous protocol and implementation flaws and implementation flaws, SSL has been deprecated for use by the TLS (Transport Layer Security protocol. The new TLS protocol is backward compatible with SSL 3.0
What is SSL?
SSL encryption ensures that the data passed between two parties remains private and secure. By this, it helps to prevent hackers from intruding into your privacy and accessing your data.
This authentication process is similar to sealing an envelope before sending it through the mail, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is usually used for e-commerce sites that handle money transaction.
It is a type of digital certificate that holds authentication for a website and enabling the connection as encrypted.
Once the certificate is issued, Instead of “HTTP” the website’s URL is prefixed with “HTTPS” and a padlock is shown on the address bar.
What information does an SSL certificate contain?
- SSL certificate includes:
- The domain name for which the certificate was issued for
- The person, organization, or device it was issued to
- The authority who issued the certificate
- The digital signature of the issued authority
- List of associated subdomains
- Issued date of the certificate
- The expiration date of the certificate
- The public key (the private key is secret)
Why do websites need an SSL certificate?
SSL is the cornerstone of our secure internet and it protects sensitive information as it transports between networks. It is important to protect your website even if it doesn’t handle sensitive information. It provides security, data integrity, and privacy for your websites and your users.
An SSL certificate helps secure information such as:
- Credit card transactions
- Bank account information
- Login conditionals
- Personal information
- Proprietary information
