What are "Secure Web Sites" all about?
Web browsers can operate in "normal" mode and in "secure" mode. You can tell which mode your browser is in by looking at the toolbar at the bottom of the browser window. If you see a broken key, or an open padlock, you are in normal mode. If the key is whole, or the padlock is closed, you are in "secure" mode. When you surf the Net in "normal" mode, all of the information you type into your browser and all the information the Web site sends to you are visible to eavesdroppers. When your browser is in "secure" mode it encrypts all the information between itself and the server. Encrypted information looks like meaningless garbage to eavesdroppers, so your personal information is secure.

What is a Digital Certificate?
A digital certificate contains the name of a company, Web site or individual, along with a cryptographic key that can be used to encrypt information that must be sent to that individual. When your browser switches into secure mode, it asks the Web site to present its certificate. The browser decides whether or not it trusts the certificate by looking at who issued it. If the browser trusts the certificate (as it does those issued by Thawte), then it will encrypt all communications with that Web site, using the cryptographic key in the certificate.

What else can certificates be used for?
Certificates can be used to make Web servers run in secure mode. They can also be used to sign and encrypt email messages, and to digitally sign software so that it will be "tamperproof."

What is a Certificate Authority?
Thawte is a certificate authority! The CA, or certificate authority, signs certificates. Thawte is a global CA, with offices and representatives in more than 20 countries. We issue digital certificates to many of the Web servers doing e-commerce today, and have issued tens of thousands of certificates to people securing their email, too.

Thawte SSL Server Certificates will enable SSL on your web server, thereby giving you the ability to communicate securely with your online customers. SSL protects all communications with your customers, so you can: