Working with SSL certificates and the secure server

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a method of ensuring that information submitted through your Web site is secure and cannot be accessed by unauthorized users. When a site offers an SSL-secured form, the information submitted via that form (typically credit card information) is encrypted using a special "certificate key" and then decrypted with another key after it has been transmitted.

When users access a site secured with SSL using either Netscape or Internet Explorer, a symbol displays in their browser windows indicating that the site is secure.

An SSL certificate, or a digital certificate, is an electronic document that contains the information necessary to establish a secure SSL connection. When used in credit card transactions, the Web site collecting the credit card information and the site to which the information is being transmitted must both have an SSL certificate.

A shared SSL certificate is available with Way2Host's plans. While a shared SSL certificate does provide for secure online transactions, it is not in your company's name; when visitors to your site choose to view the certificate, they will see Way2Host's name on the certificate.

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Using the secure server

Your secure server URL is in the form:

idXX.way2host.net

Where XX is the unique ID number of your secure server. You can find the URL for your secure server by logging in to SiteControl and selecting the Plan Info module. You should upload your order form page (for example, order.html) to your /www directory as you would a "regular" Web page. In order to call this page in secure mode, however, you must use the following URL:

https://idXX.way2host.net/[domainname]/order.html

For example, if you want to include a link on your home page (index.html) to your secure order form, you would insert the following in the index.html page:

<a href="https://idXX.way2host.net/[domainname]/order.html">Secure Order Page</a>

For information on calling your CGI scripts via SSL, see Working with CGI scripts.