Introduction to SSL certificates: their role and usefulness

Introduction to SSL certificates: their role and usefulness

An SSL certificate is an essential digital document that provides unique identification for a website and establishes a secure connection between the server and the user's browser. It uses the SSL protocol (Secure Socket Layer) to encrypt transferred data, ensuring that confidential information, such as payment details and login credentials, remains private and safe from unauthorized access.
 
Companies and users must add SSL certificates to their websites to protect online transactions and maintain the privacy and security of customer information. This data includes potentially confidential information, such as names, addresses, credit card numbers or other financial details.
 
In summary: the SSL certificate keeps connections secure and prevents criminals from reading or modifying the information transferred between two systems (browser and server)
 
If you are a new cdmon user or have contracted new hosting, we recommend following the Instructions to configure the secure connection of the site
 
How an SSL certificate works
 
The steps of a connection to a website with an SSL certificate would be the following. 
  1. A user, through their browser, connects to the website protected by SSL certificates. 
  2. The browser requests that the server of that website identifies itself.
  3. In response, the web server sends the browser a copy of its SSL certificate.
  4. The browser checks whether the SSL certificate is trustworthy. If the certificate is correct, a message is sent to the web server.
  5. The web server returns a signed acknowledgement
  6. An SSL-encrypted connection is started between the browser and the web server.

How to identify a certificate and check its information.
 
We can identify a website with a certificate when we see a padlock in the browser bar.

 


If we click on the padlock, we can check detailed information about its issuer and the details of the website we are visiting.

 

 
You could even check extra information about its validity, the type of certificate and other information by clicking on The connection is secure and then on The certificate is valid:

 


Depending on the needs of your project, you may require a specific type of certificate. We recommend accessing our commercial website or viewing our guide on Comparison of SSL security certificates
 to see the different types of certificates we offer, in addition to the free Let's Encrypt certificateavailable in the vast majority of our hostings.
 
 
For more information, you can contact us.