What is SSL

All registrations on this site on done handled over a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) line.

What is SSL?: SSL is a protocol designed by Netscape Communications Corporation to provide secure communications on the Internet. SSL does three things:

SSL authenticates that the server you've connected to is the one it purports to be.
SSL creates a secure communication channel by encrypting all communication between the user and the server.
SSL conducts a cryptographic word count to ensure data integrity between the server and the user. The word count or checksum provides a count of the number of bytes in a document and ensures the exact number of bytes is transmitted and received. With SSL, even this checksum is encrypted so it cannot be modified. If a message is not received in its entirety, it is rejected and another copy of the message is sent automatically.
How can I tell when a web site is secure?: You can tell if you are in a secure area two ways. First, check the web address that you have accessed. If you are in a secure area, the address will appear as https://www. Notice the "s" in the address. This means that you have accessed a secure server. Second, if you are using Netscape 4.0, Microsoft 3.0 or higher, check for the picture of a lock in the lower right hand corner of your browser's application window. If the lock is closed you are in a secure area. For Netscape 3.0, look for a solid key in the same area.

Is it safe for me to enter my credit card number over the Internet?: As reported in a recent Knight-Ridder News Service article (which appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer), "In 1997, there were no reports of credit-card information stolen on the World Wide Web during a transfer of information over a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) line, the kind of line used by Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer. There were no slip-ups. None." In the same article, Russell Bodoff, general manager of the Better Business Bureau Online (http://www.bbbonline.com/), stated that consumers need to understand "that the Internet is a safe, reliable place to conduct business."
In a Washington Post article, David Medine of the Federal Trade Commission suggested that it is much safer to transmit your credit card number over the Internet than to give it to a waiter at a restaurant or read it aloud over a cordless phone -- two activities that are generally taken for granted as safe.

Click here to sign up to receive the Louisiana International Trade Bulletin
and other WTC announcements by e-mail.