A Complete Guide to SSL Certificate

by Compare Cheap SSL compare ssl certificate

SSL Certificates were developed in 1994 but they were not pursued aggressively till 2015 because Internet was not so hazardous back then. With all that has happened in recent past including data breach and identity theft, webmasters are under grave pressure to adopt methods that confiscates any kind of breach.

By encrypting every information that is shared between the visitor and the website, SSL certificate is helping webmasters sleep peacefully at night. While the additional security is luring bloggers and web entrepreneurs towards SSL, improved search engine rankings are just another attribute that makes these secure socket layers so popular.

But how do you find the find the perfect SSL certificate for your site?

Let us take your through the SSL with this digital certificate guide:

What is an SSL Certificate?

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer, it establishes a secure connection between a visitor and site and helps prevent any kind of hacking or data theft. SSL Certificates are generally computer file or piece of codes implemented on a server. In brief, the specific functions of the file/code can be explained as:

Authentication: SSL Certificates have information regarding a person or the website. When you click on the padlock, the certificate authenticates and verifies the site and allows you to proceed.

Enables Encryption: This is the unique selling proportion of SSL Certificates; they encrypt the data shared between the visitor and site, preventing it from getting intercepted by hackers or unauthorized personnel.

What happens when you try to access an SSL Enabled site?

To understand the importance of SSL certificate, it is important to understand how does it works or how does the encryption works?

Step 1: You try to visit a website by typing the URL in your browser

Step 2:The browser requests the website to prove its identity

Step 3: The SSL enabled site sends a copy of its SSL certificate along with its public key.

Step 4: The browser cross checks the SSL Certificate with authorized issuer and checks whether the certificate has expired, been revoked or compromised before letting you access the site. The Step 3 and Step 4 are combinedly known as SSL Handshake.

Step 4: If the browser finds the provided certificate to be valid, it encrypts the symmetric session and send it to the website then the website will decrypt the symmetric session and cater to your needs.

Source