4.1. Secure Server (SSL)

4.1.0. General Overview

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer, Internet standard used to transfer information securely across the Internet.  SSL establishes a secure channel between your visitor's browser and your web site on our server. Through this channel, sensitive information such as credit card numbers can be exchanged securely.

4.1.1. When to use secure server.

If you want to take customer payment information via your web site, it's important to have your order form called via SSL (secure socket layer). Currently secure server is primarily used for taking credit card information over the Internet but its purpose is not limited to that.

4.1.2.  How to use secure server.

You can obtain your own Digital Certificate from VeriSign or Thawte through ivycom.com.  This will allow you to reference a secure URL using your own domain name: https://www.yourdomain.com/   giving your site more professional feel.

Please contact support to request instructions on obtaining your own digital certificate.

1) Place your order page (e.g. order.html) in your regular web directory.

2) In order to call this page, order.html, in secure mode, you need to have following url:

For example, suppose you want to have a link from your index.html page to your secure order form, you would put following html in your index.html page:

Ex. Let's assume your domain name is "foobar.com" and your secure server name is 67.securedata.net, the secure server link would be:

https://67.securedata.net/foobar/order.html

IMPORTANT: You will need send an email to support@ivycom.com to find out what you should put in [secureserver] as each server has to have unique name.

3) To call your cgi-scripts via SSL, you should use following url:

Ex. https://67.securedata.net/cgi-foobar/somescript.pl

NOTE TO FrontPage USERS: Only scripts in cgi-bin will be recognized by SSL (_vti_bin/shtml.exe which FrontPage configures will not work securely). This is not limited to IVYCOM but a general problem with FrontPage. This means that WebBot Save Results Component of FrontPage will not work with SSL.