beyond e-commerce

Mail, IM and Chat Servers

Perhaps the most important security concern among web site administrators is communications and file sharing over the Internet. Remote and mobile workers use desktop and mobile browsers to check email and share files. They discuss confidential business over IM and chat networks. With SSL Certificates on mail, IM, and chat servers, you can feel secure, knowing that these conversations are encrypted.

Browser-to-Web Server Communications

Sign-ins and online accounts provide the speed and convenience of self-service. They also put data at risk of identity theft and fraud. If customer security and privacy is important to your company’s reputation, you should consider SSL Certificates for web servers that display pages with sensitive information. For example:

• Social networking pages
• Employee benefit pages (401(k), health insurance, or stock plans)
• Account settings pages
• Contact information pages
• Pages displaying personal identifiers
• Shopping carts and wish lists
• Comment pages, guest books and forum pages
• Medical, insurance, or academic records
• Transaction histories

Server-to-Server Communications

As confidential information increasingly moves from server to server on internal networks and in the cloud, SSL certificates have become an essential tool for improving data security and network privacy. SSL certificates ensure that data in transit is encrypted to protect private communications, intellectual property, and customer information. Consider adding SSL Certificates to:

• database servers
• ftp servers
• development servers
• staging servers
• test servers
• application servers

Code, Applications, and Executables

Easy online and digital distribution has made it possible for developers to create fun and functional code, anywhere and everywhere. However, the potential for fraud and malicious code has increased as well. Desktop operating systems and browsers look for a trusted digital signature to authenticate the source and verify the integrity of content. Unsigned code may generate errors or security warnings or become compromised. A code signing certificate from a trusted certificate authority shows that your code is as safe and trustworthy as shrink-wrapped software. Learn more about How Code Signing Works.

Why Your Certificate Authority Matters

When a browser or operating system encounters an SSL or code signing certificate, it checks to make sure that the certificate is valid and that it trusts the certificate authority that issued it. A self-signed certificate may generate a warning to users that the certificate is not trusted.

In addition, users trust the brands they recognize. When they see your company name next to the trust mark of a globally recognized certificate authority, such as the Thawte® Trusted Site Seal, they are more likely to feel confident and complete their transactions.