SSL Verification

Why do we need to verify SSL certificates?

There are many great, in depth resources on the internet about SSL security, but we thought that sometimes it's nice to have an "english" explanation. Basically, SSL provides the ability for you to SECURELY connect to a network server, verify that it's who you are trying to connect with, and prevent anyone from eavesdropping on the information exchanged. There is, however, one vulnerability; if you don't verify the identity of the certificate, you could be being served information from a "man in the middle" attack. You really don't want that to happen, as the middle-man is seeing all information exchanged.

How to confirm that the SSL certificate is valid

Firefox

This tutorial is based on Firefox 3. Any discrepancies in the images is most likely due to differing versions of Firefox.

Right-click on the page, and select "View Page Info".



Select the Security icon, and ensure that you confirm that the website identity information is:

Web site: www.nymtec.com
Owner: This web site does not provide identity information.
Verified by: Comodo CA Limited



Internet Explorer

This tutorial is based on IE 7. Any discrepancies in the images is most likely due to differing versions of IE.

Right-click on the page, and select "Properties".



Click "Certificates"



Ensure that you confirm the website identity information is:

Issued to: www.nymtec.com
Issued by: PositiveSSL CA