Most anyone who has purchased anything from a business website has been told or knows to look for the little lock at the bottom of the page to check to see if their transaction and/or personal information is going to be secure. If you operate an online business you probably know a bit about providing SSL security for your customers. But most people don't stop to question just how secure their information is. Many may not have even heard of an SSL Certificate before. SSL is short for "Secure Sockets Layer" which encrypts information being passed through the internet in an attempt to keep information from being hacked into.
However, most people are not aware that there are different levels of SSL Certificates, would never think to compare SSL certificates, know what look for, or how to get or verify an SSL certificate. Would you know the difference between the worst or best SSL certificates?In brief there are 3 basic types:
1. Standard SSL Certificates which are very common, the cheapest, usually only covers 1 domain, and usually covers 40 bit encryption.
2. SGC SSL Certificates which adds an extra layer of protection by increasing your security to 128 bit or 256 bit encryption.
3. EV SSL Certificates which insure the highest level of security but is also the most expensive.
When you are looking for a web hosting company for your business one of the questions you must ask yourself and them is if their security level will meet your needs.Also when considering accepting payments online you will want to review and compare shopping cart software providers as well as merchant account providers.
Nice short post on informing the masses about SSL certificates and the types of SSL you can buy. What do you think now the security vulnerabilities in EV SSL have become widespread knowledge?