Would you send your mortgage check in the mail in a clear envelope?  Of course not!  Someone could see the check easily, and either take the check or alter it. 

Sadly, some people choose to do this with the internet.  They choose to send secure data without encryption, meaning that anyone with access to the data can see it.  Why is that bad for you, the business owner? 

First, you’re putting your proprietary data at risk, meaning that your data can be intercepted en route.  Second, you’re making it difficult for customers to trust your website.  If people can’t trust you, they won’t shop with you. 

How can you secure your transactions online?  The best way is with Secure Sockets Layer technology, known as SSL for short.  An SSL Certificate consists of a public key and a private key.  The public key is used to encrypt information and the private key is used to decipher it.  When a browser points to a secured domain, a secure sockets layer handshake authenticates the server and the client and establishes an encryption method and a unique session key.  They can begin a secure session that guarantees message privacy and message integrity. 

Every SSL Certificate is created for a specific website.  They give each website a specific key, and the secure website needs to verify whether or not the key is correct.  Encryption does come with Windows 2000 or older browsers, but there is a key difference between that type of encryption and modern encryption.  That is in the amount of bits in the key. 

Modern encryption is 128-bit encryption, as opposed to 40- or 56-bit encryption.  This means that 128-bit encryption offers 2⁸⁸ times as many possible combinations as 40-bit encryption. That’s over a trillion times a trillion times stronger.  That means that you have a code that's virtually impossible to break.

If you’re looking for this kind of security, come talk with the professionals at merchantaccount.com.  We can tailor the correct certificate for your needs.  Call us today at 1-800-956-1990 for more information!