You cannot turn on a radio, watch a TV show, read a paper or magazine without hearing the word "leak" used several times an hour.
As we become more and more interconnected, the security of our transmissions becomes an essential bond of trust between partners, both personal and professional.
Wherever you do your online shopping, or whichever social network you choose to share your life, you must be sure the website you pointed your browser to is legitimate and not a replica designed to steal your private information.
A key tool to promote trust and be assured you are safe is to look for sites that have an SSL certificate. We found an excellent explanation of SSL certificates on the GlobalSign website. Here is a brief excerpt:
SSL Certificates are small data files that digitally bind a cryptographic key to an organization’s details. When installed on a web server, it activates the padlock and the https protocol and allows secure connections from a web server to a browser. Typically, SSL is used to secure credit card transactions, data transfer and logins, and more recently is becoming the norm when securing browsing of social media sites.
SSL Certificates bind together:
- A domain name, server name or hostname.
- An organizational identity (i.e. company name) and location
Most small retailers decide to simply use the SSL provided to them by their website host. You will notice that the URL address for most of their site content begins with the ubiquitous HTTP script.
Only when you enter the shopping cart section does it change to the encrypted HTTPS:
Because taking care of our partners is the most important thing we do, Stellar Scientific has purchased a SITE-WIDE SSL certificate that is now in place.
Regardless of the page you visit, be it to shop for a humble benchtop mini-centrifuge or a large laboratory incubator, you will be accompanied by the HTTPS as a constant reminder that your every keystroke is secure and protected.
We thank all of our friends, fans and partners for helping us reach this new milestone.
Onward and Upward!