SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. It is an standard developed by Netscape Communications to transfer information securely across the Internet. SSL allows a secure communication channel to be set up between the server and your customer's browser. Once this connection has been made, information, like credit card numbers, can be exchanged with no chance of a third party intercepting the data.

Please note that SSL does not include software to process credit card transactions. Although you can securely receive credit card information through SSL, actual processing of the credit card will require a 'Merchant account' from an accredited financial institution.

To make secure transactions SSL must be enabled on your account, see the SSL page to determine whether SSL is currently available on your account.

All secure pages, images and CGI scripts must be referenced with a secure URL. Assuming SSL is available on your account, your complete secure URL can be obtained be from the SSL page. The secure URL functions just like any domain name that is mapped to your account being mapped to the root directory of your web space. This means that there is no need for you to upload your pages separately to a secure server.

The secure environment refers to the transmission of information between web browser and web server. The emails sent from the server to you, on the receipt of an order are not secure. This means that for total security you should use a script that stores the credit card details on the server whilst sending all the other details in an email to you. If you must have credit card details sent by email, you should use PGP encryption.