We have warmed up to the ideas of banking and shopping online, partly because we understand the technology a little better and, partly because we tend to trust big institutions. But, mostly because more and more brave pioneers began using the new technology without being eaten or suffering other terrible consequences.
We can feel even better about trusting online banking and shopping if we better understand the Internet's definition of trust. On the Internet, trust is established by an organization's reputation but, more importantly by their web site's security certificate.
Do you remember Ralphie's Ovaltine secret decoder ring? He really, really, really had to have it so he could understand the secret radio message! Of course, Internet encryption is vastly more complex but the basic idea is the same.
HTTPS AND SSL
HTTP is the default protocol that your browser uses to communicate with web servers. You have probably seen a web address or URL (uniform resource locater) look like this: "http://www.southsidetech.com."
We can feel even better about trusting online banking and shopping if we better understand the Internet's definition of trust. On the Internet, trust is established by an organization's reputation but, more importantly by their web site's security certificate.
Do you remember Ralphie's Ovaltine secret decoder ring? He really, really, really had to have it so he could understand the secret radio message! Of course, Internet encryption is vastly more complex but the basic idea is the same.
HTTPS AND SSL
HTTP is the default protocol that your browser uses to communicate with web servers. You have probably seen a web address or URL (uniform resource locater) look like this: "http://www.southsidetech.com."