Last Updated on November 10, 2019 by admin
Website Security Certificates are an important part of building a trustworthy environment that ensures the user of his/her privacy and keeps the information shared by them protected. Websites with Security Certificates have HTTPS in front of their URL (Uniform Resource Locator) which indicates that the website is safe from any malicious and unauthorized hackers.
The details of the Certificate and the issuing Authority can be viewed by the user by clicking on the padlock icon before the URL of the website. The Secure Sockets Layer certificate is the current verification certificate for websites.
If a website does not have a Security Certificate, the user browsing and using the website becomes a vulnerable target for hackers and malicious parties which try to steal important information like bank details, credit/debit card information, business records, etc.
Hence a user should avoid using unprotected and uncertified websites for their data safety and privacy.
The Security Certificate is given to the website after proper authorization and identification checks of the website owner. The security of a website is done with the help of an encryption algorithm which safeguards our data and information by blocking foreign and unknown third parties.
But the Security Certificates (SSL) have a huge dependency upon the Certificate Authority which not always functions according to the designated parameters, for example – certificate authorities vary in their strictness towards validation of information of the website owner and making sure whether the proofs provided are original or not.
These certificates are very useful and important for websites to enhance their development and trustworthiness. But some websites don’t get them issued. Many free Certificate Authorities are available to provide a Security Certificate for free one of them being CACert.
The CACert Assurers meet the website owner in person for verification of documents and identification. But CACert has a major disadvantage as it is not trusted by major browsers and is only limited to a few open-source browsers.
Secure Sockets Layer Certificate is an important security certificate and helps in identifying and separating the secure and insecure websites which helps in preventing malicious cyberattacks and also in the protection of valuable data.
Need for a Security Certificate –
1) Improved Google Rankings-
When a website has a security certificate a secure ecosystem is developed for the user and hence makes the websites trusted and gets a user approval which is the key for any business’s success hence Google ranks the website depending upon the level of security which it provides which depends upon the type of the certificate.
2) Security Improvisation –
With the installation of (example – SSL) security certificate, the encryption algorithm helps in protecting the user information and blocks unethical hackers from getting access to the user’s valuable and private data.
3) Browser Label Enhancement –
For a better and much taut web security google has flagged all the encrypted internet i.e. if your website does not have an SSL certificate it will display ‘Not Secure’ in front of the URL. So if a website does not have an SSL certificate it will have a lot of problems gaining user’s trust and hence will suffer a loss. So it is important for a website to have a Security Certificate for its trustworthiness.
4) Increment in Conversions –
The conversion rate from HTTP to HTTPS has an exponential increase which improves online security and helps the users and gives them a taut ecosystem.
5) Increased Customer Confidence –
A company that wins a customer’s appreciation and trust becomes a success and security is one of the most important components of it. Security Certificates help the users to distinguish between protected and unprotected websites.
If the security certificate expires it can be renewed (most CA’s provide it for a year or two), hence one should be careful if the certificate of any website is more than two years old as it may be an unprotected website.
The certificate should not be trusted if the name of the website owner and the one mentioned in the security certificate do not match. The most important is the issuing authority of the Security Certificate i.e. if it is not one among the well-known Certificate Authority chances are that it might be fake.
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