An Introduction to SSL Certificates
Why do you need a SSL Certificate?
As a developer and website owner, if you want to secure the information generated with interaction between the internet and your website, then you need SSL certificates. This works in following ways:
- Encrypting the Sensitive Information: SSL encrypts the sensitive information sent across the internet so that only the intended recipient can understand and process that information. If your website asks for Credit Card numbers, usernames, passwords and other sensitive and personal information, you should opt for a SSL certificate.
- Authentication: SSL also provides authentication to your website. In this way, your web visitors can be sure that the information is sent the right server and not to a criminal’s server. A lot of phishing websites try to impersonate your website, but as they won’t be able to obtain a SSL certificate, hence it is difficult for them to make an exact replica.
What is SSL?
SSL (Acronym for Secure Socket Layer) is a technology that encrypted connection between your web server and your visitors' web browser. In order to enable SSL on your website, you will need to get an SSL Certificate that identifies you and install it on the server.
After the certificate is installed, the website can be accessed securely by changing the URL from http:// to https://.
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a communications protocol used on the Internet that has a layer of security added. It is a combination of the standard HTTP protocol, and a security protocol called SSL/TLS.
Types of SSL certificate
- Basic / Low Assurance / Domain Validated certificate: If you want encrypted connection between your web server and your visitors' web browser i.e. you need to redirect traffic to your website via https, you can buy a basic SSL certificate like Comodo PositiveSSL certificate. These certificates can be installed immediately as they just validate your domain name via WHOIS records and have the lowest price.
- Wildcard certificate: In addition to above, if you also want to secure all your subdomains like xyz.yourdomain.com, abc.yourdomain.com (any subdomain as in *.yourdomain.com) etc you should buy a Wildcard certificate like Comodo PositiveSSL Wildcard certificate. These certificates typically take 1-2 days to install.
How to order and install a SSL certificate?
For ordering and installing a SSL certificate, you would need to follow these steps:
- Choose the type of SSL certificate you want to order: As explained in the section above, you need to choose which type of SSL certificate you want to order depending upon you need, budget and urgency.
- Choose a SSL vendor: There are different brands of SSL certificate. Their characteristics and price differ to some degrees. The most trusted brands are typically more expensive than newer brands. Famous and trusted brands include Verisign, Comodo, RapidSSL, Thwate, Geotrust amongst others.
- Generate a CSR: A certificate signing request or CSR is a piece of text that must be generated on your web server before ordering the SSL certificate. The certificate authority will use the information contained in the CSR (Organization name, domain name, public key, etc.) to create your certificate. E2E Networks' support team can assist you in this process.
- Correct contact information in WHOIS record: As all certificates are domain validated, make it sure that the information on your WHOIS record is correct and up-to-date. You can verify the details here. To update your WHOIS record, please check with your domain name provider.
Once you have decided and ensured all the information has been collected and verified, you can contact us at sales@e2enetworks.com to assist you with ordering the certificate. After the certificate has been issued, E2E Networks support team sends you the certificate files and assists you with its installation on your web server.
You can check the our range of SSL certificates here. If you have any queries regarding SSL certificates, their ordering or installation, please contact us at sales@e2enetworks.com.