Top ten key points to remember about VeriSign SSL

VeriSign SSL Certificates encrypt and authenticate online business

VeriSign SSL (secure sockets layer) Certificates, the VeriSign Trust™ Seal, VeriSign® Seal-in-Search™, Extended Validation and daily web site malware scanning work together to help assure your customers that your site is safe, from search to browse to buy. VeriSign SSL Certificates help improve your online business performance with:

Fewer abandoned shopping carts
More traffic and click-throughs to your site
More completed transactions

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When do I need SSL?

  • You have an online store or accept online orders and credit cards
  • You offer a login or sign in on your site
  • You process sensitive data such as address, birth date, license, or id numbers
  • You need to comply with privacy and security requirements
  • You value privacy and expect others to trust you.

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Customers know and trust VeriSign

VeriSign SSL assures shoppers that a site is both secure and trusted. Viewed up to 250 million times a day on over 90,000 web sites and in 160 countries, the VeriSign seal has become the most recognized trust mark on the Internet. When web site visitors see the VeriSign seal, they are less likely to abandon a transaction and more likely to do business with you online. Online shoppers extend their trust in VeriSign to your site when you display the VeriSign Trust Seal on your secured web site because:

  • The site is secured with VeriSign SSL, issued by the leading Certificate Authority worldwide.
  • VeriSign has verified the identity of the business and their right to use the web site domain name.
  • The web site has passed a daily malware scan.

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Help Me Choose

VeriSign offers four levels of increasing security features – let us help you choose the correct level for your business.

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The VeriSign Trust™ Seal generates clicks from search results

Search is one of the most important tools for marketing a business online. Potential customers look for goods and services using popular search engines, shopping sites and product review sites. And online retailers invest time and money to boost their rankings and earn clicks.

While the VeriSign Secured® Seal shows that a site is secured by our premium SSL service and authenticated by the high standards of VeriSign, the VeriSign Trust Seal includes more information in more places. Now the seal appears next to your link in search results on enabled browsers and VeriSign partner web sites. VeriSign Seal-in-Search, a feature of every VeriSign SSL Certificate, helps you stand out in search by making your link more visible with the VeriSign Trust Seal next to it.

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The most trusted and secure choice for e-commerce

VeriSign Secure Site Pro with EV (extended validation) offers the most trusted and secure choice for securing your e-commerce web site. EV triggers the display of the green address bar in the latest high-security browsers and shows VeriSign as your certificate issuer. True 128-bit SSL Encryption enables every site visitor to experience the strongest SSL encryption available to them.

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Why authentication matters

There are a lot of scam artists and fraudsters who take advantage of the Internet to collect personal information by appearing to be a trusted web site. One tactic is to secure a fake site with an SSL certificate from a Certificate Authority with a low standard for authentication. VeriSign SSL combines encryption to protect your information during transmission with a proven, rigorous process for authenticating identities and confirming their right to use a web site domain. When the VeriSign Trust Seal is present, your customers can rest assured that the web site belongs to a real, verified individual or organization.

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Phishing and how to protect against it

Phishing is the practice of a fraudulent web site imitating an authentic site for the purpose of gathering credit card numbers, identities, or other private information from consumers without their permission.

Usually, phishing or fraudulent web sites look just like the real thing. To distinguish a phishing site from a valid site, customers may look for subtle signs including requests for user name and password. Where phishing sites often try to scare consumers into submitting their user name and password, a valid site will never scare visitors into providing this information.

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Extended Validation restores trust with the green address bar

An EV (extended validation) SSL Certificate gives customers more confidence that they are interacting with a trusted web site and that their information is secure. An EV SSL Certificate triggers high-security Web browsers to display your organization's name in a green address bar and show the name of the Certificate Authority that issued it, such as VeriSign. The Certificate Authority uses an audited, rigorous authentication method and browsers control the display, making it difficult for phishers and counterfeiters to hijack your brand and your customers.

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VeriSign SSL daily malware scan protects everyone

Hackers exploit security weaknesses on your server to gain access to your web site and install malicious code. They use your web site to spread viruses, hijack computers and steal sensitive data such as credit card numbers or other personal information. VeriSign SSL scan your web site daily, looking for malware on your public pages. This helps mitigate the risk of being attacked, of becoming blacklisted by search engines, and reduces the risk of infecting your customers' computers when they browse your web site.

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Concerns keep shoppers from buying online

In the past two years, 62% of U.S. adults have become more concerned about their online security.

  • 48% have become more concerned about giving personal information online due to fear of cybercriminals
  • 36% are less likely to enter credit card information online because of concern that it will be intercepted and stolen. (Harris Interactive, March 2009)
  • 73% of consumers want more assurance that their information is secure. (Javelin Strategy and Research, March 2009)

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Authentication generates trust in credentials

Trust of a credential depends on confidence in the credential issuer, because the issuer vouches for the credential's authenticity. Certificate Authorities use a variety of authentication methods to verify information provided by organizations. VeriSign, the leading Certificate Authority, is well known and trusted by browser vendors because of our rigorous authentication methods and highly reliable infrastructure. Browsers extend that trust to SSL Certificates issued by VeriSign.

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Shopping cart abandonment reduced and online sales on the rise

Case studies show a 10-34% increase in online transactions when a VeriSign seal is displayed. In a recent study, 11% of respondents decided not to conduct business with the site because they did not see the VeriSign seal (VeriSign Brand Tracking Research, 2009).

VeriSign SSL with Extended Validation (EV) also boosts completed transactions with customers measuring an average increase of 17.8% (based on 32 case studies).

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The most recognized trust mark on the Internet

VeriSign seals are viewed up to 250 million times a day on more than 90,000 web sites in 160 countries and in search results on enabled browsers as well as partner shopping sites and product review pages. When web site visitors see the VeriSign seal, they are less likely to abandon a transaction and more likely to do business with you (VeriSign Brand Tracking Research, 2009).

  • 86% of online shoppers recognize the VeriSign seal when shopping or transacting online.
  • 11% said they would not purchase on sites not displaying the VeriSign seal

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What is authentication and why is it important to SSL?

Authentication is third party verification of a web site's identity to establish trust. Before Web visitors share username and password, payment information or other personal data, they need to know that they can trust the web site requesting it. A company logo or brand name is not enough. These can be faked. To protect against fraud and phishing sites, Web visitors look for proof that your business entity and web site are legitimate. This can be provided by a VeriSign SSL Certificate. Similar to the way a government agency verifies a birth date before issuing an identification card, an SSL provider (Certificate Authority) verifies an organization's right to use a domain name and other required identification information. SSL Certificates are uniquely issued to a specific domain and Web server.

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Phishing and online fraud undermine customer confidence

Concerns about identity theft and browser warnings erode consumer confidence, even on secured pages.

  • 83% of consumers want more assurance that their information is secure
  • 86% of online shoppers feel more confident about entering personal information on sites using security indicators
  • Fear of identity theft resulted in online retailers missing out on $21 billion in sales in 2008
  • (Sources: VeriSign Brand Tracking Research, 2008; Javelin Strategy and Research, March 2009)

To regain their trust, site owners need an easy, reliable way to show customers that their transactions are secure and they are who they say they are. Certificate Authorities and Internet browser vendors have combined forces to establish the EV standard for SSL Certificates.

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Credentials establish identity online

SSL Certificates are credentials for the online world, uniquely issued to a specific domain and Web server and authenticated by the SSL Certificate provider. When a browser connects to a server, the server sends the identification information to the browser. To view a web sites' credentials:

  • Click the closed padlock in a browser window
  • Click the trust mark (such as the VeriSign Trust™ Seal)
  • Look in the green address bar*

*Only SSL Certificates with EV trigger high-security Web browsers to display your organization's name in a green address bar. Learn more: SSL Security and Extended Validation.

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