SSL Certificates have become a necessity for anyone doing business over the Internet.

Identity theft is at an all-time high, prompting more and more people to look for an SSL seal before sending personal information to any Web site for any reason. Thanks to phishers, who've made an art out of imitating legitimate Web sites with fraudulent copies, even Web sites that appear to represent the biggest, oldest and most-trusted companies are suspect.

Eighty-nine percent of the 4,500 respondents to the RSA 2010 Global Online Consumer Security Survey said they were "somewhat to very concerned" about the threat of phishing. These concerns seem to be higher in some parts of the world (Asia, Central and South America) than in others (U.S. Canada, Europe).

The number of survey respondents reporting being victimized by phishing increased five-fold between 2007 and 2009.

These activities have caused consumers to change how they behave online. According to a survey commissioned by CyberSource¨ Ltd, 86% of the 1000 online shoppers surveyed "look for the secure padlock icon on a website before proceeding with a purchase." A separate survey commissioned by an online security firm found similar results, with 62 percent of respondents saying they look for the lock icon in a web address bar and 55% for a logo from an Internet security provider.

When your personal information is at stake, you just can't be too careful.

While a number of companies sell SSL Certificates, there is very little difference between their products. All SSLs reassure wary Web shoppers by confirming the holder's ownership of the domain, all encrypt the information that passes between the shopper and the secure Web pages. Most also work with the vast majority of Web browsers in use today.

The basic or Standard SSL Certificate typically verifies domain name control only and does not require phone verification or faxed documents. Many SSL providers also offer an Extended Validation (EV) or Premium Certificate. These Certs guarantee that the entity that owns the certificate is who it claims to be and has a legal right to use the domain from which it operates. Needless to say, criminals never meet these criteria so are unlikely to obtain a Premium SSL.

The only significant different between the various SSLs on the market is price. Although our SSL Certs offer all the features of the best SSLs on the market, Starfield Technologies charges only a fraction of what other providers charge.