|
SSL is an industry standard security protocol used to encode sensitive
information like your credit card number or address. It works by
creating a temporary, shared "key" (sort of a digital
code book) that lets only the computers, on either end of a
transmission, scramble and unscramble information. To anyone else
between the sender and the receiver, including all the servers that
may relay the message, the SSL transmission is indecipherable
gibberish.
A connection only needs to be secure if sensitive information is being
exchanged between a client and a web server. Since encrypting information
takes time, it slows down sending and receiving web pages. This is why
you do not want everything to be encrypted. However, you should make sure
your connection is secure before you transmit information that you want
to be protected.
Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator both use a small lock to indicate
that a connection is secure. If the closed lock does not appear on your
browser window, your connection is not secure, with one exception. If the
destination web address begins with "https:" (note the 's'), instead of
"http:", your browser will encrypt information before sending it to that
secure server. As a rule of thumb, however, never send private
information without the closed lock showing on your browser window. The
following diagrams will help you to identify whether or not your
connection has been secured:
|
