About Secure Sites

Secure web pages use a transfer protocol named SSL. Short for Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet. SSL works by using a private key to encrypt data that's transferred over the SSL connection. All of the major browsers support SSL including Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, Fire Fox (Mozilla) and Safari, and many Web sites use the protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers. By convention, URLs that require an SSL connection start with https: instead of http:. When entering your credit card, or any sensitive information on the web it is recommended that you look for the "https://". The whole site does not have to be protected, just the pages that ask for confidential information.

You should also look for some sort of 3rd party Digital Certificate Digital Certificates are used to verify identity and are used in a variety of scenarios, such as e-mail protection and validation, secure web sites, online shopping carts and more. On a secure web site, when you are required to provide your credit card information, you will need to be assured that your confidential information is secure. You also need to know that you are sending information to the company that you think you are, and not to an intruder impersonating this company. Digital Certificates that are issued by a trusted 3rd party provide verification that the current web site does indeed represent this company, thereby verifying the company's identity. Outlet Shirts has been verified by Go Daddy. By clicking on the Digital Certificate you should be able to obtain information regarding that company's certificate.

What do you need? You need an up to date browser in order to be able to take advantage of this security. How do you know if your browser will handle this type of encryption? Internet Explorer In Internet Explorer click on Help and select About Internet Explorer. The window that pops up should say "Cipher strength: 128-bit". If it doesn't, clicking on "Update Information" will take you to this page with instructions for upgrading IE. If you're running Windows 2000 the upgrade is a little different, by going to microsoft.com/ie you will be able to find upgrade instructions. The upgrade is pretty fast and easy (you do have to restart your computer). You'll see similar symptoms if SSL 2 or 3 isn't enabled (not likely as enable is the default). In IE:

1. Click on "Tools"
2. Select menu item "Internet Options"
3. Click on the "Advanced" tab
4. Scroll down to the "Security" section
5. Make sure SSL 2.0 and 2.3 are checked

Any other browser can be updated by visiting their respective websites.