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In my post: e-Commerce: Is Online Payment Safe and Secure? , I have mentioned about the https:// protocol and the padlock image that can be seen inside the browser. In this post, I will give some details on how to make a more trusted site by using the https protocol.

HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It is a combination of Hypertext Transfer Protocol and a cryptographic protocol. HTTPS connections are often used for payment transactions on the World Wide Web and for sensitive transactions in corporate information systems. By default, URLs that begin with ”https://” uses port 443 (ordinary “http://” uses port 80)

Strictly speaking, HTTPS is not a separate protocol, but refers to use of ordinary HTTP over an encrypted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) connection.

Examples of site that uses the https protocol are www.paypal.com, www.godaddy.com and www.thawte.com.

What is an SSL Certificate?

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. Most of the time, it is used to make a secure e-commerce communications, as well as interactions for Websites, intranets, and extranet. This ensures reasonable protection from eavesdroppers and man-in-the-middle attacks, provided that adequate cipher suites are used and that the server certificate is verified and trusted.

There are lots of global certificate authority of SSL. Some to mention are: thawte, VeriSign, GoDaddy, and GeoTrust . Authoritatively signed certificates may be free or cost between US $13 and $1,500 per year.

You do not need an SSL certificate if your site does not have any delicate content and data. But if you are making an e-commerce store, it is advisable to put an SSL so that you can gain the trust of your visitors to visit and transact on your site over and over again.

Well, I hope you learn something after reading this article. Next time I will be discussing on how to install an SSL certificate on your website.

Filipinos are now aware of the online businesses. Few years ago, shopping malls, gadgets stores, music stores, and many others are not interested on selling items online especially here in the Philippines. They were afraid of the fraud that can happen when selling online and I guess Filipino really don’t give their trust that easily when it comes to modes of payment.

Even myself, do not want to use my credit card before on online purchases because I am afraid that somebody might get my credit card information during the actual purchase. I guess it is already in Filipino nature to be “madududahin” sa kapwa, especially when they are dealing with “kapwa Pilipino”. (It is sad to hear that in other countries, kung sino pa yung kalahi mo, yun pa ang manloloko sa’yo… Well I hope it is just hearsay). Well, maybe not all, but I believe, most of people are like that.

Some questions that they always ask are the safety. How safe is it? Are my credit card information will be stored in their database? Kulang na lang tanungin nila kung “Unilab ba yan?” (Hey I am not plugging ok? But I did…hehe).

SAFETY and SECURITY are the most important things when purchasing items online. One of the things to know is if the website is a secured site. What is a secured site? Well, it is easy to know and classify. When you take a look at your URL, the protocol used most of the time is HTTP:// ,but when a site is a secured site, it uses HTTPS:// . The “S” obviously means SECURITY. So you’re SAFE!!!

Another clue is the LOCK image at the lower right of the screen browser (near your tray icon). If you cannot see this padlock, then do not proceed on payment.

So what??? So what if they use HTTPS:// protocol and have a padlock image? It only means that the site is using a special encryption of data like SSL 128 bit encryption.

What is SSL 128 bit encryption?

The 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) gives you the highest level of protection possible whenever you use credit cards or make other financial or confidential transactions over the Internet.

The Internet Explorer 128-bit High Encryption is the highest level of protection possible for all your Internet communications, including credit card use and financial transactions.

Well, I hope you learn something from this blog. So next time, do not be afraid to purchase items online using your credit cards. But before you purchase an item, take a look on the “S” of the https:// and the padlock icon.

Happy ONLINE Shopping!