Online Business Advisor

SSL Certificates

2008-11-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

What Is An SSL Certificate?

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is a protocol developed by Netscape that enables a web browser and a web server to communicate securely. Security is provided in two different ways:

Authenticating the web server to the client using a digital certificate;
Encrypting all information sent.

The SSL protocol requires that the web server should have a digital certificate installed in order to make an SSL connection. This is where thawte comes into the picture.Through an SSL-enabled web server and a thawte SSL certificate, a customer connecting to a secure website is assured of 3 things:

Verification and Authentication:

For thawte SSL Web Server and SGC SuperCerts products, the certificate verifies that the company that installed the certificate is the true owner of the website.

For thawte SSL123 product, the certificate validates the domain name in the certificate.

Message privacy: Using a unique session key, SSL encrypts all information exchanged between your web server and your customers, such as credit card numbers and other personal data. This ensures that personal information cannot be viewed if intercepted by unauthorized persons.
Message integrity: The data cannot be tampered with over the Internet.
SSL is the de facto standard for securing Internet transactions and is implemented by all major software vendors. Your users do not need any installation of additional software on their server or browser. When implemented correctly the process is seamless to the user.

How Does An SSL Certificate Work?

The browser asks to start a secure session with the server.
The server returns the site's certificate.
The browser checks the certificate information for validity
The browser creates a session key, which is encrypted with the server's public key, which is then sent to the server
The server then decrypts this information using its private key.
Both the browser and the server now are using the same session key

You can control which method and strength of encryption is required. There are options that allow you for example, to see if 128-bit encryption is supported by the browser. If you have a policy of enforcing very strong encryption, then you can send a message back to the user suggesting they download a 128 bit enabled browser.

Once both the browser and the server are using the same secret key for encrypting and decrypting their information, they can then have a certain amount of comfort in knowing their information cannot be intercepted and decoded by a third party. Of course, this depends on whether strong or weak encryption is used.

For the visitor to your site, the little lock icon will appear on their browser. As long as you continue to use the https: protocol, everything between the browser and your scripts are encrypted without you having to worry about the details.

what is SSL crypto strength?

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) provides encryption between web browsers and web servers. This encryption, based on the RSA algorithm, can be done at different strengths, depending on what the software supports at each end (i.e. the web browser and the web server).

The strength of the encryption is typically specified by the size of the session key (a unique value involved in the encryption that differs for every customer every time he/she visits the site). The session key can be either 40 bits, 56 bits or 128 bits in size.

Cryptographers consider 128-bit encryption impossible to crack, as it would take millions of years with the fastest computers to try all the combinations. On the other hand, 40- and 56-bit keys are not as strong and it is feasible to try all the combinations.
Historically, the USA restricted the export of strong encryption products. This meant that the browser versions developed for export from the US were not automatically enabled to encrypt communications using 128-bit encryption. All secure communications using these international browsers used 40-bit encryption. It is important to realize that a substantial number of browsers used in the US today are international browsers. So even if you only serve US customers, you may still require an SGC SuperCert to provide them with the strongest possible encryption.

What is SGC technology that is found in thawte's SGC SuperCerts?

SGC technology stands for Server Gated Cryptography and thawte has been issued a license by the US Bureau of Export Administration (BXA), allowing the issue of certificates that enable 128-bit SSL sessions in older browsers that are usually restricted to 40/56-bit encryption. The difference between SGC SuperCerts and normal SSL Web Server certificates is that whenever one of these older browsers connects to a site that has a SGC SuperCert installed, the SSL session will be automatically 'stepped-up' to 128-bits, instead of being negotiated at an encryption level that the browser has been defaulted to (40/56 bits).

IE 4.X or Netscape 4.06 and later)

thawte's SGC SuperCerts automatically step up to 128-bit encryption for certain end-users with the Windows 2000 operating system who, in the past, would not receive 128-bit encryption irrespective of the version of Internet Explorer used. The systems affected are those that shipped prior to about March of 2001 and did not subsequently have Microsoft's High Encryption pack or Service Pack 2 installed. thawte's SGC SuperCert ensures that all these site visitors enjoy the protection of the strongest SSL encryption available.
An SGC SuperCert from thawte will allow your clients to extend 128-bit encryption to their customers, even if they use browsers (IE 4.X or Netscape 4.06 and later) limited to 40-bit or 56-bit encryption capabilities.

Why Is Documentation Needed For Certain Certificates?

Before thawte can issue your Digital Certificate, we fully authenticate that your organization actually exists. We do this using appropriate government issued documentation. We need to do this to verify that:

We are issuing it to the correct company
The company owns the Internet domain name in the request.
The company is registered in one or more countries.
The registered company name is the same as the name on the certificate request.

Should you include Comparison Shopping Engines as a part of your PPC mix?

2008-09-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

Shopping search engines allow companies to place their products in front of consumers actively searching for and comparing products for purchase. A consumer can visit a shopping site and search for a specific item; results will list similar products, prices and customer reviews for comparison purposes. This allows a website to place their products in front of a consumer during the buying phase of the shopping experience.

Read Armen Mardirousi's Article on Comparison Shopping Engines

Neolynx Business Solutions TV Ad

2008-08-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

The Importance of a web presence to a Real Estate Professional

2008-07-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

Everyday, more and more people turn to the web to find goods and services... and real estate is no acceptation. No remain competitive - especially in a down market - real estate professional must not only have a web presence, they need to dominate the markets they service. While there are hundreds of "companies" offering real estate web design services - with prices ranging from laughably low to ridiculously high - it is important to keep in mind that not all real estate web design companies are created equal.

To succeed in launching a visually pleasing real estate website that packs a punch when it comes to the underlying technology, the real estate professional must do his or her homework to ensure a maximum return on investment (ROI). And to make things even more complected, once the website is in place, how will people find it? This of itself is a whole art form known as Real Estate Search Engine Optimization or Real Estate SEO for short. If done right, Real Estate SEO can make the real estate professional a whole lot of money. But be forewarned, if done incorreclty Real Estate SEO can have can have devistating effects on your online presence. A poorly designed and maintained online marketing strategy can drastically hurt your ranking with the search engines - or even worse, get your site banned from the search results!

So to recap... to suceed as a professioanl real estate agent or broker you need ore that a fancy website, you need a user-frindly real estate website with powerful tools and lead capture funcionality that engages the visitor and makes them comfortable in giving you thier information with tools such as online scheduling capabilities. And what do you do with this website once it's up and running? It doesn't cease to amaze me to see the number of real estate professionals putting up a website and sitting back expecting people to not only magically find them, but to contact them and become clients. If only it where that easy... Once the right real estate website is built (with real estate SEO in mind and integrated from the beginning), using the right MLS IDX System and integrated with the best real estate lead capture tools, the on-going Real Estate SEO process begins.

Be sure to pick the best real estate website design company that can not only build you a website, but has access to the right tools and technology and has the ability to successfully resign and maintain your real estate search engine optimization campaign. For more information, visit: http://www.neolynx.com/real-estate-web-design.htm

Social Media Marketing

2008-06-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

American consumers have more choices, more products, more services, more messages arriving from more media, and more digital conversations than ever before. Therefore, new product (or service) marketing has become a pandemonium. What’s a marketer to do?

As a result of this gluttony of information bombarding the consumer, most advertising is incredibly inefficient. Advertising in mass media generally reaches far more people than the potential customers you intend to reach. When CPMs were low, this wasn’t a major issue. A certain amount of advertising waste was a part of doing business. For over 150 years, marketers broadcasted their messages to the masses through newspapers, magazines, and later through radio and television. They tried to refine their potential market to the best of their abilities. Today, sophisticated marketers realize that what worked in the past is not working (at least not as well) now. It’s become apparent that we need a new approach.

Marketers want to know:

What is the best medium to reach our market?
What are our customers reading, watching, and listening to?
How can we attract their attention, stop them from turning the page or changing the channel?
How can we best tell them about our product, our service, our benefits, or our values?

Managers and marketers alike need to realize that the Web is rapidly becoming the most important marketing medium. They also need to realize that people don’t want to be sold; they will go out of their way to avoid commercials. Therefore, banner ads and pop-ups are not the best way to market on the Web. What people do want is news and information about the things they care about. They want to be able to find out about the things they care about right away. Community building is what marketers need to engage in.

The Social Web

The social web is the online place where people with a common interest can gather to share thoughts, comments, and opinions. It is a new world of unpaid media created by individuals or enterprises on the Web. As opposed to traditional publisher-controlled media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, and television where the communication is overwhelmingly one way, social media such as blogs allow everyone to publish and participate in multithreaded conversations online. These posts can make or break personal, product, or corporate reputations.

The social web provides numerous opportunities for strengthening and extending relationships with all your customers. These opportunities include:

Targeted Brand Building
Lead Generation
Partnerships
Research and Development
Employee Communications

Rather than talking at customers, you should talk with your customers. As a marketer, you should participate in, organize, and encourage social networks to which people want to belong.

The Four Ps of Marketing

2008-06-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the most basic and most important concepts in marketing is known as the four Ps:

Product
Price
Place
Promotion

If you can develop a good product at the right price, position it in a place where buyers are, and promote it well to create desire in the customers' mind, you'll make a lot of sales.

Product includes the actual physical product (or service) and the decisions such as function, appearance, packaging, labeling, and warranty.

Price is an important factor. If your price is high, not enough people will be able to afford it. If your price is too low, you will not make any profit.

Place is essential to building sales. We've all heard the expression: "In the right place, at the right time." You MUST position your marketing message and position your product to sell. Without proper positioning, no one will know you exist.

Promotion decisions include those related to communicating your message, advertising, and public relations.

Steps to a Successful E-Commerce Web Site

2008-05-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

To be successful in selling online, you need much more than a web site with an integrated shopping cart system. You need:

A Winning E-Commerce Strategy
The Right Tools, Services, and an Experienced Partner
A Web Site Optimized for Online Selling
The Ability to Measure and Analise Data from your Website
The Ability to Promote and Drive Traffic to your Online Storefront

Why sell online, anyway? Let's look at the numbers:

More than 85% of the world’s online population shopped on the Web last year
(Nielsen Global Online Survey)
The market for online shopping increased by 40% in the last two years
(Nielsen Global Online Survey)
In 2007, online sales reached well over $200 billion
(U.S. Department of Commerce)
By 2010, online sales of apparel and accessories will reach $144 billion, up from $81 billion the previous year
(Jupiter Research)

Internet commerce is growing at a record pace. And, thanks to more experienced online shoppers with broadband access and sales of inexpensive computers, the future is looking brighter for new online businesses every year.

A Neolynx Business Solutions developed E-Commerce solution will provide the best possible buying experience for your customers while giving you cutting edge SEO (Search Engine Optimization) capabilities and complete E-Commerce functionality you need to manage and grow your online business.

Contact us to schedule a consultation and to see how we can help expand your business.

Increase your Website Traffic

2008-05-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

The Neolynx Business Solutions increased website traffic program is guaranteed to increase your website traffic. We can bring unique, targeted visitors to your site.

You decide where you want your website traffic to come from:

United States Website Traffic
Worldwide Website Traffic
Canada Website Traffic
North American Website Traffic
Australia Website Traffic
Europe Website Traffic
United Kingdom Website Traffic

Packages starting at only $59. Learn More

Neolynx, Inc. Announces Free Web Design for Local Non-Profit Organizations

2008-05-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Neolynx Business Solutions, a leader in online marketing and web development services, has announced a unique opportunity for local non-profit organizations wishing to establish or expand their online presence. Beginning immediately, local non-profits can submit a brief online application for an opportunity to have Neolynx lend its expertise to the organization at no cost.

After finding great success being a part of the Southern California business community for almost a decade, Neolynx wants to show appreciation by giving back to the community. “We’ve felt a close connection with our community for a long time and have given back on the individual level. We recently decided to give back to the community through our company by lending our expertise to a worthy cause,” said Armen Mardirousi, President of Neolynx, Inc. “At Neolynx Business Solutions we believe together we can make the world a much better place.”

The search for a local non-profit is well on its way and will continue until application deadline, midnight on June 30, 2008.

For additional information on our free NPO web site, visit www.neolynx.com/npo.

The Value of a Web Site

2008-03-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

what can a web site do for your business?

A web presence can be instrumental in achieving many business goals. You’re online goals may vary depending on your industry, your products and/or services, or the stage of growth your business is currently in. This article will explore a few typical goals set by business seeking to implement or restructure their online presence... read full article

Announcing the Neolynx Business Solutions Website Redesign!

2008-03-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

We're proud to unveil the brand-new Neolynx Business Solutions website. Feel free to look around and let us know how we did.