What are secure websites and why SSL certificates are ?

When we log on to a website, information is sent from your computer to the web server, and from the web server to the computer. Anyone can browse through this information because it is in plain text. So, we can imagine how risky it would be to go for online shopping or banking in the internet. If this menace is not done away wit, how will e-commerce be possible? The answer lies in creating Secure Socket Layer (SSL), where all text is encrypted. Not only for text, there is encryption for your credit card number too. A secure website must have its own static/dedicated IP address.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) providers like GeoTrust, SSL.com also provide a 'site seal' to the owners of these websites which is characterized by high visibility, difficulty in duplicating and verification functionality.

Procurement of SSL certificates require a static/ dedicated IP address, SSL access and an understanding of non-trusted certificates. These certificates guarantee the customers about the legality of their websites and the transactions are a certified economic process.

Let's throw light upon their working. First, a browser requests a secure page (usually http://). Next the server sends its public key with its certificate. It decrypts the symmetric encryption key using its private key. The webserver sends back the requested html data encrypted with the symmetric key. Now the browser decrypts the http data and html document using the symmetric key and the information is displayed on the computer monitor.