Secure Servers

AAPT can provide a secure AAPT Web connection so that you can conduct electronic commerce and other activities with increased security. You can arrange to set up a secure connection at the outset or at any time during the life of your AAPT Web site.

If you wish to arrange a secure connection, contact your account manager.

Security using SSL

Hypertext transfer protocol is made secure by using secure sockets layer (SSL) to create a new protocol; secure http.

SSL provides data encryption, server authentication, message integrity and optional client authentication for a TCP/IP connection. Using SSL on both the client and server machines allows Internet communications to be transmitted in encrypted form to prevent eavesdropping, tampering or message forgery over the Internet.

A document's Uniform Resource Locator (URL) indicates if it is secure or not. A secure Web document originating from a server implementing SSL security has a URL beginning with https while an insecure document from has a URL beginning with http.

Secure http (https) and http are different protocols and typically reside on different ports - 443 and 80 respectively. Locating the secure and insecure protocols on different ports allows a single server to provide both secure and insecure documents simultaneously.

Finding out more

For information about SSLeay see the SSLeay and SSLapps FAQ at http://www.psy.uq.edu.au:8080/~ftp/Crypto/

Certificates

Certificates, also known as digital IDs, are files which verify that you are who you say you are. They provide far greater security than methods such as a username and password.

A Certificate Authority is an entity that attests to the identity of a person or an organization and issues certificates attesting to that identity.AAPT support Thawte Consulting certificates and Verisign can also be used.

Finding out more

For more information, see the Thawte Consulting Home Page or the Verisign Home Page