HTTP or HTTPS?

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gnfb

1907 posts

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# 143844 29-Apr-2014 14:03

I would say that I buy 90% of my consumables and products online.

I never pay attention as to whether the site has the address http or https

I was about to my sites with "Secure transactions and customer data with SSL certificate "

Now I know I have a "shell be right " attitude but I know a lot don't

So The question

Do you expect a business , shopping site to have a SSL certificate?

Do you bother to look before you make a purchase?

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

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163 posts

Master Geek

# 1033173 29-Apr-2014 14:27

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Absolutely they should, and yes, I check every time I'm entering anything remotely personal/valuable.

It is totally irresponsible not to secure customer details in this day and age - but you're right that many customers don't know/care enough to check, and many businesses don't know/care enough to implement it. It will probably take a breach in either case to make them sit up.

The alternative (and I wouldn't complain if it were to happen) would be to force all internet communications to be encrypted by default - essentially implement some form of "opt-out encryption", but that's not going to happen any time soon.

nathan

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# 1033180 29-Apr-2014 14:55

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+1

yes I don't buy from an online store without checking they're using encryption

timmmay

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# 1033185 29-Apr-2014 15:08

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Note that https/encryption is necessary when entering personal information (name, address) or credit card information. For general shopping it's irrelevant.

Inphinity

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# 1033190 29-Apr-2014 15:16

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If there's any sort of transaction then yes, HTTPS is a must.

insane

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# 1033203 29-Apr-2014 15:37

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What's interesting in the wake of the heart-bleed bug is how many affected sites have changed their certs, or at least not. There's no point using the old cert if the keys have potentially been compromised.

gnfb

1907 posts

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# 1033204 29-Apr-2014 15:40

Hmmm looks like I am adding SSL certificates Thanks for the advice!

I do a quick search on google ............ and of course there is everything from "free" certificates to godaddys $167USD a year

Any last words before I spend the next 2 hours figuring out what to get?

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

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pih

163 posts

Master Geek

# 1033205 29-Apr-2014 15:49

I have no complaints with StartSSL free 1-year certificates, but I've been using them for relatively low-risk things. You may feel better paying one of the big boys, but I'm not sure in all reality how much "better" a paid cert is than a free one (with the exception of "EV" Extended Validation certificates, if it's important for your visitors to know you are a genuine legal entity, and you are who you say you are)

wasabi2k

2092 posts

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# 1033207 29-Apr-2014 15:55

If you submit anything over HTTP it is transmitted in clear text and is trivial to intercept. As such you should NEVER transmit anything non public without SSL, e.g.

Passwords
Credit Cards
Personal Info such as IRD number

GoDaddy is fine for certs. Big boys use EV certs which are more expensive, not a requirement for a store.

Heartbleed or not, SSL is a requirement.

gzt

11026 posts

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# 1033245 29-Apr-2014 17:02

Even with the heartbleed vulnerability on some platforms SSL still correctly encrypted the data in transit, so even in a case with heartbleed SSL was still doing it's job of protecting data in transit. I personally don't care much if the shopping cart is not SSL secured, but I would be very reluctant to put credit card details into a non-ssl secured form.

By the by, these days you will not always see the protocol address or the full path address in the bar. Just the padlock symbol if the page is SSL secured. It appears the upcoming release of Chrome is going to go this way. From a security pov it is not an issue, but the average nerd is going to be a bit annoyed by the new design imho.

richms

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# 1033274 29-Apr-2014 17:20

For basic shopping I don't care if ssl or not as card fraud is not my problem and my name and address is publicly findable in any case.

Things that matter then I expect the whole process to be ssl no point in taking that only for the card details as those are the least direct risk to me.

Richard rich.ms

gnfb

1907 posts

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# 1033293 29-Apr-2014 17:51

pih: I have no complaints with StartSSL free 1-year certificates, but I've been using them for relatively low-risk things. You may feel better paying one of the big boys, but I'm not sure in all reality how much "better" a paid cert is than a free one (with the exception of "EV" Extended Validation certificates, if it's important for your visitors to know you are a genuine legal entity, and you are who you say you are)

So are you saying that this level would be acceptable keep most people happy ?

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

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richms

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# 1033312 29-Apr-2014 18:10

Pictures of padlocks and seals and a stock photo of someone with a headset on them for a contact us page make most people happy.

Richard rich.ms

scottjpalmer

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# 1033323 29-Apr-2014 18:55

gnfb: Hmmm looks like I am adding SSL certificates Thanks for the advice!

I do a quick search on google ............ and of course there is everything from "free" certificates to godaddys $167USD a year

Any last words before I spend the next 2 hours figuring out what to get?

Nate is a pro, DM him and he will be happy to help.

gnfb

1907 posts

Uber Geek

# 1033383 29-Apr-2014 19:46

richms: Pictures of padlocks and seals and a stock photo of someone with a headset on them for a contact us page make most people happy.

How Cynical! LOL Person who thinks just like me!!

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

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gnfb

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# 1033389 29-Apr-2014 19:53

I have to admit I'm not giving this thought ,a lot of thought, but wouldnt it be useful if there was a say a group of you clever geekzone people of diffrent opinion, who produced a reccomendation list of products and services. Maybe I am looking for a tec equivalent of Shangri-la. But it would save a lot of time amd messing about

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

gnfb on trademe

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