Securing
Your Connections through SSL
For more
information contact us at info@mhhosting.net
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer protocol) is a standard for transmitting confidential
data such as credit card numbers over the Internet. Most true business
sites support this feature which allows more security in data transmitted
over the WWW. This is the standard minimum security level for true business
on the Internet. SSL works by using a private key to encrypt data that
is transferred over the SSL connection. To read more about what is SSL
and how it works, go to http://www.modssl.org/docs/2.8/index.html
SSL requires a dedicated IP because name-based hosting does not support
data encryption in HTTP requests. To enable SSL, go to the Web Service
page and click the ON/OFF button in the SSL Support field.
There are three options in configuring your SSL support:
Using the Key and Certificate You Already Have
If you are migrating from a different provider and already have an SSL
private key and certificate, just enter them into the boxes that appear:
Creating a Temporary Certificate
The only
difference between the temporary and permanent certificates is that the
first is not generated by trusted Certificate Authorities. Thus, when
users enter your site they will get the "unknown certification authority"
warning window.
To generate
a new temporary SSL private key and certificate, click the link at the
top of the form.
In the
next window, confirm your data by clicking the Submit button. These
data are required to generate the certificate. Don't make changes to the
data if you are not sure about the purpose of these changes:
After you have submitted the form, the following is generated:
- SSL
Certificate Signing request. It includes the details that you submitted
on the previous step. Use this request if you want to get a permanent
SSL certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority, such as Thawte
and VeriSign (see
below).
- SSL
Server Private Key. This is the secret key to decrypt messages from
your visitors. It must be stored in a secure place where it is inaccessible
to others.
- Temporary
SSL Certificate. It validates your identity and confirms the public
key to assure the visitors that they are communicating with your server,
not any other party.
Now that
you press the Submit Query button, your site will become secured
with your temporary SSL pair.
Acquiring a Permanent Certificate
To get
a permanent certificate, you first need to generate a certificate signing
request. It includes your details and is generated as you create a temporary
SSL certificate (see above). Copy
this signing request so you can use it later.
As the
next step, go to Thawte,
VeriSign, or any
other Certificate Authority and choose to get a new certificate. When
requested, enter the signing request that you have saved.
After
the permanent SSL Certificate has been generated, save it to a secure
location. Then go to the Web Service page and click the Edit
icon in the SSL field. Enter the certificate into the upper
box of the form that opens:
Then
click upload. Now your transactions are secured.
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