Common SSL Questions

What is Secure Socket Layer (SSL)?

A secure Web Server uses the Secure Socket Layers (SSL) technology to establish an encrypted connection between the Web Server and the client. The SSL Protocol is designed to provide privacy between two communicating applications (a client and a server). Second, the protocol is designed to authenticate the server, and optionally the client. 3TEC.COM's secure Web Server supports up to 128-bit encryption, the highest of current SSL technology offered.

How strong is the SSL Certificate?

3TEC.COM generates all the CSR (Certificate Signing Request) using the keysize of 1024-bit, and the Certificate Authority will sign it with the same keysize. This keysize approaches industrial standards required for encryption.

How do I utilize SSL on my site?

Simply access everything through a special URL https:// instead of http://, such as:

https://secure.3tec.com/~UserID/order_form.html

or:

https://secure.your-domain.com/order_form.html

The latter is accessible only if you have your own SSL Certificate. It requires you to obtain a SSL Certificate from Certificate Authority (CA) such as Thawte or VeriSign.

What is the difference between a Shared SSL Certificate and owned SSL Certificate?

The only difference is that Shared SSL Certificate is issued for "secure.3tec.com" and owned SSL Certificate is issued for "secure.your-domain.com". Both types of SSL access methods offer the same grade of encryption, however, some visitors may feel uncomfortable when the SSL session points to someone else's domain name.

I would like to apply my own SSL Certificate. How much will it cost?

There is a one-time setup fee of USD$30.00. The actual price of the SSL Certificate will vary by different Certificate Authority:
Thawte http://www.thawte.com - USD$125 for first year, USD$100 renewal
VeriSign http://www.verisign.com - USD$349 for first year, USD$249 renewal

3TEC.COM also offers GeoTrust SSL Certificate at a discount rate.

How do I obtain my own SSL Certificate issued for my domain name?

As the first step, you have to fill out the application. After this you will receive an e-mail message with SSL CSR (Certificate Signing Request) and explanation of the procedure.

I still have questions. Where can I find a good explanation of the SSL concept?

The following links will be helpful on this matter:
http://www.thawte.com/support/server/contents.html
http://digitalid.verisign.com/server/help/index.html

Both sites contain the full explanation of the SSL concept and Step-by-step instructions.

Which SSL Certificate format should I download from Certificate Authority?

Choose "Standard Certificate Format". More specifically, 3TEC.COM's SSL Servers are Apache-SSL.

I have downloaded my SSL Certificate, what should I do now?

Copy and paste your SSL Certificate to Security Management in Panelbox. We will setup the SSL Server for your domain name and notify you when it is ready.

How do I move my SSL Certificate from another server or ISP to 3TEC.COM?

Moving your SSL Certificate to 3TEC.COM depends on whether you can export your private key from your current ISP or server in a Standard Certificate Format and whether we can import the private key to our SSL Servers.

In most cases, if you are moving the SSL Certificate and private key from one Web server to an installation of the same server type, then your chances are quite good. But if you are moving the SSL Certificate and private key from one Web server type to another, then the chances of moving the private key are minimal.

In general, if you can not export the private key, you will have to obtain a new SSL Certificate. If we can not import your private key into our SSL Servers, you will have to obtain a new SSL Certificate.

How strong is the SSL session?

3TEC.COM's SSL Servers support up to 256-bit encryption.