So are they a waste of money for a small business? Can you survive without an SSL Certificate?
We’re all fixated on SSL Certificates because Google decided that every website needed one but the fact is that SSL Certificates makes nothing as secure as Google would have us believe.
An SSL Certificate does not guarantee that your computer is secure and it does not guarantee that the server that hosts the website you’re looking at is secure.
All that an SSL Certificate is supposed to do is make the connection … the lines … between your computer the server that hosts the website your looking at secure by encrypting the data that flows over that connection.
But guess what? There’s a little problem that the industry calls “Man in the Middle”.
Hackers can … and do … grab the data that is flowing over that connection and the data can be read by those hackers.
It certainly doesn’t happen all the time but it means that the whole concept behind SSL Certificates is a bit like the fable of The King’s New Clothes.
In the fable the King tells all his subjects that he is wearing the finest new clothes and they believe him … all except one little boy who hasn’t been brainwashed. When that little boy sees the King he quickly realises that the King isn’t wearing any clothes at all … he’s completely naked.
And that’s what the reality is behind SSL Certificates.
But wait, there’s more
If every one believes that SSL Certificates will keep them safe then what happens when they come across a site that does not have an SSL Certificate?
Most of them leave so it’s important to have an SSL Certificate just to keep everyone feeling that it’s secure and safe to deal with you.
That green lock that appears up in the address bar is everyone’s security blanket and even the hackers and scammers are displaying that lock on their websites.
As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to call or email us.
