The secure socket layer protocol (SSL) is an Internet standard security technology, which uses digital keys to encrypt private data, such as credit card information on an order form, sent from your customer's web browser to the web server hosting your e-commerce site. Do to the decentralized and dynamic nature of the Internet, it is possible that a third party could try to look at the private data as it traveled through one of the many networks between the customer and your site. This technique, know as packet sniffing, is only effective when the data is sent in plain text. However, because data sent over SSL is encrypted, or scrambled, it would be completely unusable by the hacker.

ShonLee Studios makes a free, shared version of SSL available on all of our virtual server web hosting plans because keeping your customers' data secure is in everyone's best interests. If your e-commerce site were mystore.com, a link to your order form using shared SSL might look like this:

https://ww10.secure-website.net/~mystore/order.cgi   (example)

Using this shared version provides all of the security of SSL, however, the SSL certificate information would apply to the domain name secure-website.net instead of mystore.com. The alternative is to purchase your own an SSL certificate to identify mystore.com as a secure site, in which case the link would appear as:

https://www.mystore.com/order.cgi   (example)

Both options are supported on all ShonLee Studios virtual server web hosting plans. Click here for information on our plans and pricing or learn more about how site identity certificates help secure your site.