ecommerce recommendations and related topics
certification authority
Abbreviated as CA, a trusted third-party organization or company that issues digital certificates used to create digital signatures and public-private key pairs. The role of the CA in this process is to guarantee that the individual granted the unique certificate is, in fact, who he or she claims to be. Usually, this means that the CA has an arrangement with a financial institution, such as a credit card company, which provides it with information to confirm an individual's claimed identity. CAs are a critical component in data security and electronic commerce because they guarantee that the two parties exchanging information are really who they claim to be.
Also referred to as a certificate authority.
SSL
(pronounced as separate letters) Short for Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet. SSL uses a cryptographic system that uses two keys to encrypt data − a public key known to everyone and a private or secret key known only to the recipient of the message. Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer support SSL, and many Web sites use the protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers.By convention, URLs that require an SSL connection start with https: instead of http:.
Another protocol for transmitting data securely over the World Wide Web is Secure HTTP (S-HTTP). Whereas SSL creates a secure connection between a client and a server, over which any amount of data can be sent securely, S-HTTP is designed to transmit individual messages securely. SSL and S-HTTP, therefore, can be seen as complementary rather than competing technologies. Both protocols have been approved by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a standard.
Also see SSL: Your Key to E-commerce Security in Webopedia's "Did You Know...?" section.
Anatomy of a Credit Card Transaction: The Basics
For a bigger understanding of a credit card transaction, the consequent is a
step-by-step breakdown: from the customer making a purchase using ECmerchant to
the merchant receiving an authorization on the value request. This not only
shows who is involved in this path , however it will highlight some considerations
in choosing an Internet value supply and establishing a merchant credit card
account.
Once the merchant account is in settle with an acquiring financial school
the merchant will desire to understand how money will be moved from the customers'
accounts to the merchant account. The best path to appreciate how an Internet
merchant gets paid is to follow a typical credit card transaction path . Fully
automated from end-to-end, in most cases it takes just seconds to entire.
1. A customer visits a web site, using average web browser software,
and fills her ECmerchant shopping cart.
2. The customer and ECmerchant exchange details online regarding
addresses, delivery and final value.
3. ECmerchant then displays the 'BUY' button to the customer, and a
transaction is initiated.
4. The customer clicks the 'BUY' button, prompting ECmerchant
to mail and electronic invoice.
5. ECmerchant provides transaction details in a form or the shopper's
browser automatically opens her online wallet, allowing her to select a value
instrument.
6. An encrypted charge value message is sent to ECmerchant.
7. When the server software receives the value message, it adds
merchant identification data.
8. The value request is encrypted and forwarded to gateway server
hosted by an ECommerce value supply corporation.
9. The gateway server decrypts the message and authenticates customers'
data and merchant validation.
10. A message is sent over secure, private financial networks to the
merchant's bank or authorized processor requesting charge approval.
11. Once the request is processed, a positive or negative response is
sent back to ECmerchant and on to the customer.
12. If the transaction is authorized, a digital receipt is delivered,
and the transaction is entire and captured.
