• Среда, Февраль 9, 2022

SSL is one of the most common concepts in the internet environment. You can often find it on shopping sites. The opening of SSL is "Secure Socket Layer" which means "secure access layer" in Azerbaijani. We can define SSL as a security protocol developed by Netscape, which provides personal privacy and security, allows encryption of communication between server and client to protect data during data transmission over the network, thus ensuring privacy and integrity protection.

To explain more clearly, an SSL certificate is a digital security certificate that fulfills the security requirements of a website, such as ensuring an encrypted connection with the user, verifying the "identity" of the website. An SSL certificate ensures that information shared with a website, such as a sealed letter, only reaches the respective website's servers without falling into the hands of third parties. SSL certificates are a product that verifies the correctness of website addresses and ensures that data communication between two points is securely transmitted through an encrypted channel. They will never ensure the security of the code you write or your website.

An SSL certificate prevents third parties from intercepting users' important personal information such as name, address, phone, email, and credit card or bank account information. The most important purpose of an SSL certificate is to protect data privacy. However, some SSL certificates are issued after authentication by certificate providers. This shows the reliability of the company and the website.

Website security is very important to users on the Internet. The privacy and protection of personal information and credit card information shared at the checkout step is indispensable, especially for sites that work with membership systems and e-commerce sites. To understand whether a website has an SSL certificate, it is enough to pay attention to a few points.

  • The first is to check for "https" in the URL. On a site with an SSL certificate, https is written instead of http." The letter "s" in https means "safe".
  • The second thing to consider to know if a website is secure is the lock icon you can see in your browser when you visit a website. This lock icon can be located in different parts of the browser.
  • Websites with the SSL certificate type, which provides the highest level of data encryption security, have the name of the company or organization next to the lock icon in the browser. This phrase is sometimes highlighted in green.

How do SSL certificates work?

There are two keys for SSL encryption: a public key and a private key. SSL is based on an encryption method based on the use of these keys. In fact, they are digitally encoded software. What is locked with one key can only be opened by another key. After you generate your keys (SSL does this by default, you don't need to take any action), one of the keys (the private key) remains on the server. The other key (the public key) is sent to the people you want to connect with. An outsider who wants to contact you sends the message to you securely using the public key. Your private key will be required for decryption, even if the data is accessed in transit before it reaches you.

SSL ensures that data transmitted between users and websites or between two systems cannot be read in any way. It uses encryption algorithms to complicate the data being transmitted, thus preventing hackers from reading the data sent over the connection. This data may include sensitive information such as names, addresses, credit card numbers or other financial information.

The process takes place more precisely as follows:

  1. A browser or server is trying to connect to an SSL-protected website (ie, a web server).
  2. The browser or server asks the web server to identify itself.
  3. In response, the web server sends a copy of the SSL certificate to the browser or server.
  4. The browser or server checks the SSL certificate to decide if it trusts it. If it trusts the certificate, it sends a signal to the web server accordingly.
  5. The web server then responds with a digitally signed confirmation to initiate an SSL encrypted session.
  6. Encrypted data is shared between the browser or server and the web server. This process is sometimes called the "SSL handshake". While this may seem like a long process, it happens in milliseconds.

What are the Characteristics of SSL Protocol?

  • Ensures security and privacy during encryption and decryption of incoming data.
  • Facilitates the creation of a document archive.
  • The connection is valid. It also includes checking the integrity of the message during the message flow.
  • It guarantees that the data sender and receiver are the correct locations.
  • Checks the date and time of sent documents.

Which browsers support the SSL protocol?

Modern web browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera support the SSL Protocol. The best selling SSL Certificates are brands like Comodo SSL, Rapid SSL, Thawte, Symantec, Certum.

Is there a connection between SSL Certificate and SEO?

SSL certificate is one of the SEO criteria defined by Google. In this way, your site can adapt to Google's criteria and rise in the rankings. However, an SSL certificate alone will not be enough to boost your site's ranking. SEO criteria are taken into account in optimization works, taking into account both user and site security. The question may be asked: Does an SSL certificate affect search engine rankings? The influence of web browsers, especially Google Chrome, should not be ignored in the influence of the SSL certificate on the ranking. When users search using certain keywords, they tend to visit sites listed on the first page. The browser automatically warns the user if the site they are viewing does not have an installed SSL certificate. In this case, users prefer safer options instead of registering or continuing to fill out forms. In this way, secure websites get more traffic than others. Therefore, it outperforms its competitors who do not use certificates in search results. Taking the user experience to the next level with SSL helps your brand website stay one step ahead of your competitors and appear on the first page of search engine rankings. If you offer your customers or members a safer environment through your website, you will easily increase their trust in you. As a result, an SSL certificate that is extremely easy to install makes your website more secure and makes your target audience choose you first to meet their needs. In addition to achieving this result, it also contributes to the rise of your website in search results, which will allow you to promote your business or ideas.

Other places where SSL certificates are used:

Millions of websites (including blogs and social media sites); uses SSL to ensure credit card transactions, data transmission and secure browsing of login pages. By enabling HTTPS, you are letting consumers know that the website is legitimate and secure to operate.

SSL is most commonly used for security:

  • Online credit card transactions
  • Web forums and customer entries
  • Email and webmail programs
  • Corporate communication via intranets, file sharing, extranets and internal servers
  • Cloud-based platforms and virtualized applications
  • File transfer via FTP
  • Data transfer to and from mobile devices

What are the types of SSL Certificates?

There are many types of SSL certificates available today, depending on the level of verification and the number of domains they provide.

SSL certificates by level of verification are as follows:

1. Domen Validated SSL

- A Domain Validated (DV) SSL certificate provides the lowest level of validation. The main purpose of DV certificates is to ensure communication between the domain's web server and the browser.

2. Organization validated SSL

- An OV SSL certificate requires intermediate verification if it controls the organization's domain and rights to use the organization's information. OV certificate increases the level of trust of the organization and the domain name.

3. Extended Validated

- An EV SSL certificate requires a high level of verification. This includes verification of legal, physical and operational availability.

SSL certificates by domain name are:

1. Single Domain SSL (Standard SSL Certificates)

- Standard SSL Certificates provide a fully qualified domain or subdomain.

2. Wildcard SSL Certificate

- A Wildcard SSL Certificate covers one domain name and an unlimited number of subdomains.

3. Multi-Domain SSL Certificate

A Multi-Domain SSL certificate protects multiple domains using the same certificate. It is specifically designed to secure Microsoft Exchange and Office Communications environments.

How can you add an SSL certificate to your website?

Installing an SSL certificate depends on how and where your website is hosted. There are usually several ways to add an SSL certificate to your server. In most cases, your hosting provider will automatically add an SSL certificate to your website (probably with a Domain Validated certificate). If your organization needs a more secure SSL certificate, you can consult with your hosting provider or IT security team.