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Frequently Asked Questions

What is SSL?
What is a digital certificate?
Why should I choose SBS certificates?
What browsers accept SBS certificates?
How long does it take to confirm a SBS certificate?
What is required to receive a SBS Secure certificate?
If my server crashes, will I need a new certificate?
Why are SBS certificates so cheap?
Why would I need an SBS Secure certificate?
Why would I need an SBS Secure Plus certificate?
What is the SBS Secure certificate insurance policy?
How do you install a SBS certificate?
How many certificates do I need?
How do certificates and SSL work?
What are the steps used to securely communicate on the web?
What is a Quick Validation SSL Certificate?
What is a Full Validation SSL Certificate
What if I do not have my Dun and Bradstreet number?
What countries can I buy SBS certificates from?

What is SSL?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. SSL is the encryption standard for Internet traffic. When someone on the Internet wants to send data securely, they use SSL encryption to accomplish it. Without SSL, any data sent over the Internet can be easily intercepted by third parties.

What is a digital certificate?

A digital certificate verifies you are who you claim to be. Having a certificate means that an organization, called a Certificate Authority (such as SBS), has verified the identity of the parties involved.

Why should I choose SBS certificates?

Secure Business Services is a bargain! You get the top-quality, 128-bit SSL encrypted certificates that everyone else uses, but for much lower prices.

What browsers accept SBS certificates?

SBS Secure Certificates use SSL version 3 to encrypt data. This means that over 99% of browsers will accept SBS Secure Certificates including Internet Explorer 5 and above, Netscape 4 and above, Opera 5 and above, and AOL 5 and above.

How long does it take to confirm a SBS certificate?

The process to signup and receive your SBS Secure Certificate depends on the type of certificate you have purchased. SBS Instant Certificates take shorter because they are low assurance, usually between 1 and 2 hours. SBS Secure Certificates are high assurance and therefore takes between one to two days, provided you respond to all requests for information immediately and the information is valid. Requests may take longer if customers are unable to provide the required documentation immediately, or if there are apparent discrepancies in the information that must be resolved.

What is required to receive a SBS Secure certificate?

Certificates are available to anyone who can prove that they are a valid entity. This includes individuals, companies, and organizations. As long as you have an entity with a registered domain name, and the WHOIS administrative contact information on the domain name is correct, you can receive a certificate.

There are multiple pieces of acceptable documentation to get a high assurance certificate. The easiest and most popular is the DUNS number. Other acceptable forms of identification include articles of incorporation, a business license, Doing Business As (DBA) registration, partnership documentation, or sole proprietorship documentation.

If my server crashes, will I need a new certificate?

When you receive your SBS Secure Certificate, you should burn a copy on CD-ROM or keep a backup copy in a safe location. If you do lose your certificate, you can contact Secure Business Services customer service to resolve the issue to get a new certificate.

Why are SBS certificates so cheap?

Secure Business Services is committed to keeping prices low and quality high. When you buy from us, you can trust that your prices will be as low as possible while still maintaining the industry standard requirements for SSL encryption.

Why would I need an SBS Secure certificate?

If you want to send data over the Internet that is secure from prying eyes, you should get an SSL Certificate. SSL is the best way to encrypt data on the Internet in an affordable, feasible, and secure way. SBS Secure certificates provide full 128-bit encryption that is trusted on over 99% of all browsers. SBS Secure certificates are fully validated and extremely competitively prices

Why would I need an SBS Secure Plus certificate?

If you are a small business and would like not only to send encrypted data in 128-bit SSL encryption, but also to show your customers that you use such encryption technology and thus that your business has been validated, then SBS Secure Plus is your product. SBS Secure Plus offers the world-famous SBS Trust Logo to help business owners communicate that their website is legitimate. If you do not have a logo, your customers may not realize that you are using SSL, and this may be a hindrance to conducting business with you. Therefore, if you want your customers to know your site is safe and secure, you want to use SBS Secure Plus.

What is the SBS Secure certificate insurance policy?

Secure Business Services provides an insurance policy on all of its certificates. The exact amount depends on the kind of certificate provided. Please see your user agreement for details. This insurance policy is designed to offset any damages caused to a third party that has relied on SBS Certificates for SSL encryption. Secure Business Services stands firmly behind its offering, and therefore provides this insurance as an added feature.

How do you install an SBS certificate?

While it is relatively easy to install an SBS certificate, please be aware that all certificates install a little bit differently. It is critical that you read the through the following instructions pages!

Please select the area in which you require support:

How many certificates do I need?

Every domain name that is fully qualified you wish to secure must have its own certificate. For example, if you wished to secure both www.myname.com and secure.myname.com, you will need to have two separate certificates.

How do certificates and SSL work?

Certificates are used to verify a customer’s identity, while SSL and encryption ensure secured, private communication.

The most common cryptographic technique used on the Web today is the public key system. This algorithm uses two keys to secure transmitted data, a public key and a private key. One key is used to encrypt a message and the other is used to decrypt it. For example, say John wishes to securely communicate with his bank. John will use the bank's public key to encrypt his messages and the bank will decrypt John's messages with their private key.

Now John also wants to be certain that he is indeed communicating with the bank and not an imposter. The best method the bank can use to convince John that they are really the bank is to use a certificate signed by a trusted agency (certificate authority). This means John can view the certificate contents and decide if the public key he is going to use to encrypt his messages really belongs to the bank.

What are the steps used to securely communicate on the web?

The steps used when a browser communicates securely with a web server are as follows:

Your customer contacts a secured part of your site.
Your server sending the customer your site's digital certificate.
Your customer's browser accepts or rejects the certificate. If the certificate is rejected, a secure communication channel is not established. We will assume in this example the browser accepted the certificate and Customer Bob was able to continue on with a secure connection. A successful connection generally shows an https:// instead of an http:// in your URL address.
Your customer's browser generates a unique "session key" to encrypt all communications with the site they are visiting.
Your customer's browser encrypts the session key itself with your server's public key so only the site can read the session key.
A secure session is established. Depending on the browser, the customer may see a lock icon becoming whole or a padlock closing, indicating that the session is secure.

What is a Quick Validation SSL Certificate?

Quick Validation SSL certificates ensure that information is encrypted between parties. With a Quick Validation SSL certificate, the owner of the certificate is verified via an email to the administrative contact listed in the domain’s WHOIS information. This email asks whether the person buying the certificate is a representative of the organization owning the domain. This helps ensure that the certificate is valid. With a Quick Validation certificate you can be sure that your data will be transferred over the Internet with the Internet’s secure encryption technology.

What is a Full Validation SSL Certificate?

Full Validation SSL certificates also encrypt data sent between two parties with the same encryption technology. Full validation certificates not only verify the identity of the SSL certificate with an email to the administrative contacts, but they also provide a higher level of identification. Full validation certificates verify that the certificate owner is a legal entity, whether that entity is a business or individual. This not only helps ensure that the certificate is valid, but that the business entity you are conducting commerce with is a valid entity. Full validation certificates therefore help ensure that data is securely sent over the Internet to a trusted entity.

What if I do not have my Dun and Bradstreet number?

To find your DUNS number, you may go to http://smallbusiness.dnb.com

If you do not have a DUNS number, you can get one for free by either calling 1-800-333-0505 or registering online at: http://www.dnb.com/eupdate/dunsform/

After completing the online DUNS application, it can take approximately one week before the information is reflected in the Dun and Bradstreet web site. Get DUNS number faster by calling the toll free number.

What countries can I buy SBS certificates from?

Customers in almost any country in the world can buy an SBS Secure Certificate, except those customers residing in certain countries that the United States Export Administration deems forbidden. Please see the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for a list of countries that US companies can not do business in. If you reside in one of these countries, SBS cannot provide you an SSL certificate. See the US Export Administration website for more information: http://www.bxa.doc.gov/

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