Infographic - How EV SSL Certificates Helps You to Increase Your Online Profit

Are you managing an online web store? Consumers are now shopping online more than ever, learn how consumers decide who to trust before entering their credit card details.

Why an SSL Certificate is Important to a User and an Owner of Website

As we now all live in an online world, every day we browse multiple websites according to our needs. Sharing our personal and banking details with websites is just like sharing this vital information with people whom we have never met personally; we just know them virtually through their online eCommerce platform.

Is the question becomes, is this is a safe way of sharing our personal and credit card details or banking details? The answer is not always. But, because we are all living more and more in an online world, completing transactions over the internet is becoming more than a convenience – it’s becoming a necessity.

Just as the public needs websites for online shopping, trading, or for transferring money, eCommerce website owners also need more traffic and ROI for their platform. As we know, day-by-day online phishing is increasing rapidly, and hackers have become more active on eCommerce a platform, which has led customers to just ignore dealing with websites that do not appear to be reputable and offer noticeable security features.  And that’s why eCommerce website owners and users must think about their web security.

When web security is a concern, an SSL Certificate is one of the best choices to secure your website with a high level of encryption strength and with https, since the “S stands for Secure”.  When your website carries a Secure Socket Layer, this means you pass the message to your website user that they are in safe hands and they can easily deal with your website and safely share their personal data.
As per one recent online survey, 65% of people are more likely to deal with websites which have a Domain Validated SSL Certificate, an Organization Validated SSL Certificate, or an EV SSL. Only 35% of people are taking risk to share their information or deal with pages which are not secure with “https.” And, from this 35% of people in the world, most are affected by hackers and risks losing their hard earn money or private information.

After reading this, we would hope that you never share your personal information on an online website that isn’t visibly secured by an SSL certificate. But, at the same time, if you are an eCommerce retailer, then you must need to endorse an SSL certificate for your website as per your needs.

SSL Certificate Requirement Guidelines:

1. If you have an eCommerce website with low volume, then the RapidSSL Certificate is one of the best solutions for you.
2. If you have a website related to banking & finance which has online bill payments or online banking facilities, then you should go with Symantec Secure Site with EV or Symantec Secure Site Pro with EV according to your specific needs.
3. If you are looking for SSL Security for your Email & Application Server, then GeoTrust QuickSSL Premium is the finest solution if you have MS Exchange Server (OWA) or MS SharePoint Server.  For other email application servers, Thawte SSL123 is best.
4. Moreover if you want to secure multiple domain names with a single SSL Certificate which are sharing the same host name, then Wildcard SSL certificates are the best choice for you.

So, secure your website with an SSL Certificate and secure your website and users' data with most trusted SSL brands like Symantec, Thawte, GeoTrust, RapidSSL and Comodo SSL.

Leverage Vulnerability Assessments within Symantec Website Security SSL Certificates

Our online world is rife with shadowy creatures; it’s riddled with crime organizations, activist groups, government entities, and lone hackers. Why they breach our data can boil down to a few things; greed, ideological dissent, and their desire to publicly embarrass their targets. In 2011, high-profile attacks on various Certificate Authorities threatened the systems that sustain trust in the internet itself.  These attacks highlighted the need for Symantec to continue to harden their defenses and develop even stronger security procedures and policies.

The Website Security Internet Threat Report, published in May 2012, reported that in 2011 the Symantec website security malware scanning service scanned over 8.2 Billion URLs for malware infection. Approximately 1 in 156 unique websites were found to contain malware. The struggle to preserve IT security for your client accounts is a 24/7 job, and your strategy needs to be comprehensive and focused. Where website malware scanning finds malware infection fast and helps you eliminate it, website vulnerability assessments are a proactive measure to prevent hacks in the first place. They enable you to proactively identify weaknesses in your website that bad actors are most likely to use to attack you. Vulnerability assessment services identify and guide resolutions to the most common and highest risk exposure points like SQL Injection and Cross Site Scripting (XSS). Symantec's vulnerability assessment identified critical vulnerabilities on 50% of websites scanned in a Symantec Assessment Preview Program conducted in August 2011.

In the 2012 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report, 79% of victims were targets of opportunity. Of these, 96% of the attacks were simple, well known or published vulnerabilities. Meaning most of these businesses were attacked because they possessed easily exploitable weaknesses. Don’t leave your clients’ front door open.

Symantec Secure Site Pro with Extended Validation (EV), Secure Site with EV, and Secure Site Pro SSL Certificates carry the Norton™ Secured Seal, the most recognized trust mark on the Internet** and include vulnerability assessment at no cost for your clients. The targeted scan helps quickly identify and take action against the most common exploitable weaknesses that create the biggest risk to your customer’s business operations. Scans done automatically on a weekly basis can check for vulnerabilities on public-facing Web pages, Web-based applications, server software and network ports. Actionable reports identify both critical vulnerabilities that should be investigated immediately as well as informational items that pose a lower risk. You and your clients then have an option to rescan the websites to confirm that the vulnerabilities have been fixed. In addition, Symantec maintains one of the world’s most comprehensive vulnerability databases, currently consisting of more than 47,662 recorded vulnerabilities (spanning more than two decades) from over 15,967 vendors representing over 40,006 products.

Neglecting to perform frequent vulnerability checks puts your customers’ websites, their clients, and their business at risk by leaving the door open to hackers. Studies show that the average cost per incident of a data breach in the United States is $7.2 million, with one of the largest breaches costing $35.3 million to resolve.*

The shadowy creatures that infiltrate security vulnerabilities are not going away; they will continue to refine their attacks against your customers. Your clients need tools that allow them to continue to do business safely online. They want answers and look to you, their trusted advisor, for the right solution. Symantec Secure Site Pro with Extended Validation (EV), Secure Site with EV, and Secure Site Pro SSL Certificates are the tools they need to stay protected. Symantec vulnerability assessment help reduces the cost and complexity of vulnerability management, and it’s a solid starting point for your clients’ organizations that want to quickly assess their security standing. Symantec SSL certificates vulnerability assessments are also ideal for your clients' organizations that already use a compliance vulnerability scanning solution such as those for PCI, and need a complementary solution to cross-check the results of their scan for an added layer of security. When used in combination with Symantec SSL Certificates and daily website malware scan, vulnerability assessments help you to secure your clients' websites and protect their consumers.

Source : Symantec.com

SSL for Apps

SSL/TLS is technology that is critical for securing communications. The challenge facing the SSL ecosystem today is how it is being implemented and used. Several University researchers have recently published reports indicating errors and shortcomings in non-browser applications that act as the client of an SSL/TLS connection. These issues result from flawed implementations of SSL in the applications or in SDKs or APIs used by them. SSL Client non-browser applications should follow these best practices to ensure the high level of authentication, confidentiality and integrity promised by SSL remain intact.

A Developer must perform a number of checks, and the most important is to cryptographically validate that the end-entity certificate presented by the server is the expected certificate, or was signed by an expected certificate. In other words, the Developer must create a trusted and validated chain of certificates starting with the end-entity certificate and linking up to a trusted root or intermediate certificate. Certificates in the chain can be returned in random order, with instances of more or even fewer certificates necessary to build a chain. If a self-signed root certificate is returned by the server, it should be ignored. By building a certificate chain, the developer cryptographically verifies that the chain from end-entity certificate through intermediates to root certificate are valid and can be trusted.

Think carefully about which certificates you will trust. It is good to require the server to return a particular end-entity SSL certificate, however your application can break when the certificate is renewed or replaced. Alternatively, require that the end-entity SSL certificate chains up to a particular trusted root, and is signed by an intermediate certificate with a specific Common Name.

The SSL/TLS protocol, when properly implemented, provides strong confidentiality and integrity for communications, as well as authentication of one or both endpoint identities. But it must be used according to standards and best practices. SSL Certificate has been the key to trust on the Internet for more than a decade, and it will continue to provide excellent protection against evolving cyber security threats.

Some Android apps have serious SSL vulnerabilities, researchers say

A team of researchers from two German universities has released a study asserting that many of the most popular free apps available through the Google Play store may be vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks -- seriously threatening user privacy.

RELATED: The 10 most common mobile security problems and how you can fight them

The researchers, from the Universities of Hannover and Marburg, studied the 13,500 most popular free apps on the Play store for SSL and TLS vulnerabilities. They found that 1,074 of the applications "contain SSL specific code that either accepts all certificates or all hostnames for a certificate and thus are potentially vulnerable to MITM attacks," according to a summary posted online.

Additionally, the scientists performed a manual audit of 100 apps for a more definitive look at potential security issues, finding that 41 were open to man-in-the-middle attacks because of SSL vulnerabilities. They said that the vulnerable apps could be exploited, allowing an attacker to steal highly sensitive usernames and passwords for Facebook, WordPress, Twitter, Google, Yahoo and even online banking accounts, among others.

Similar vulnerabilities, the team added, could be used to manipulate antivirus software on the phone, changing definitions to include benign apps or ensure that malicious ones are ignored.

"The cumulative install base of the apps with confirmed vulnerabilities against MITM attacks lies between 39.5 million and 185 million users, according to Google's Play Market. Actually Google's Play Market does not give a precise number of installs, instead giving a range. The actual number is likely to be larger, since alternative app markets for Android also contribute to the install base," the researchers wrote.

According to the H-Online, the team plans to make the code analysis tool it developed for the research public "in the near future."

Source:networkworld.com

Adobe Revokes Certificates Following Server Compromise

Adobe is in the process of revoking certain digital certificates after discovering two malicious utilities signed by valid Adobe certs. 

Adobe's senior director of security Brad Arkin, wrote in a blog post that attackers had compromised an Adobe build server (and not the certificates themselves) that was able to make code signing requests to Adobe's actual code signing service.

The breach occurred on July 10, so any certs signed with the impacted key from then until October 4 will be revoked, Arkin wrote.  

Adobe Downplays Impact
"This only affects the Adobe software signed with the impacted certificate that runs on the Windows platform and three Adobe AIR applications [Adobe Muse, Adobe Story AIR, and Acrobat.com] that run on both Windows and Macintosh. The revocation does not impact any other Adobe software for Macintosh or other platforms," he said. 

So far, Adobe has found only two malicious utilities, pwdump7 v7.1 and myGeeksmail.dll, bearing the certificates. Adobe told Securityweek that "the evidence indicates that the certificate was not used to sign widespread malware." 

The Story's Not Over, Security Experts Say
But although the current scope is small, some security experts warn that the impact could be huge.

Kaspersky's Roel Schouwenberg questioned why Adobe had backdated the cert revocation to July 10, when the two malicious files were signed two weeks later.

"Is Adobe 100 percent confident no other malicious files were signed?" he asked. "We should view this as along the same lines as the RSA attack."

Furthermore, he said, no one knows who the attackers are really targetting. "So far nothing suggests that Adobe was the real target."

F-Secure's Sean Sullivan agreed that although "there's definitely no need to panic at this point" about getting infected by a stolen Adobe signature, we shouldn't move on too quickly.

"Being the build server, it makes one wonder if any developer computers have been compromised to allow code to be injected into Adobe's apps. Injecting a backdoor into Adobe's apps would be so much more valuable than spoofing its cert," he said.

In a statement, Paul Zimski of Lumension said that with the right certificates an attacker "could theoretically impersonate a legitimate software update, and spread malware payloads through these mechanisms."

"The installed software is going to think its downloading a valid update, but it’s actually a false update signed with a fraudulent, but real certificate. I’m not saying that’s what was done here, but this is the Holy Grail of what could happen."

The issue now, Zimski said, is where the attackers are going next.

Similarly Wes Miller, research VP at Directions on Microsoft, said the fact that attackers now have code signing certificate for code "from one of the most pervasive companies on the planet, and one that is constantly patching" means it will take quite a bit of time for Adobe to revoke the certificates on a global level. And in the meantime, "how large of a threat vector does this pose"

Adobe posted the malicious utilities on the Microsoft Active Protection Program (MAPP) so security vendors could detect and block them. At the moment, using an up-to-date anti-virus is your best bet, Schouwenberg said. 

Source : securitywatch.pcmag.com

PRESIDENT OBAMA URGED TO ISSUE CYBERSECURITY ORDER

U.S. president Barack Obama has been called upon to issue an executive order to improve the nation's computer and website security practices. Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein of California wrote an open letter to the president that expressed concerns over cybersecurity legislation efforts, predicting that effective legislation is not likely to pass within the next year.

"Therefore, I believe the time has come for you to use your full authority to protect the U.S. economy and the networks we depend on from future cyber attack," Feinstein wrote. "While an Executive Order cannot convey protection from liability that private sector companies may face, your administration can issue cybersecurity standards and provide technical assistance to companies willing to take voluntary steps to improve their security. You can also direct the Intelligence Community and the Department of Homeland Security to provide as much information as possible to the private sector about cyber threats, including classified information."

A recent article from The New American pointed out this isn't the only time the Obama administration has been called to action. Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia wrote a similar letter to the president earlier this month. White House representatives said that the administration considered issuing an executive order after the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 failed to pass in the Senate.

Although the U.S. government has made several attempts to pass legislation enhancing communication between the private and public sector, those efforts have come under heavy criticism from security experts. According to a CIO blog post written earlier this month, experts said previous cybersecurity bills did not address core issues.

The article highlighted comments from Jason Lewis, chief scientist at Lookingglass Cyber Solutions, who said the problem with the bill was accountability. Voluntary guidelines such as those outlined by CISPA are not enough to protect critical infrastructure, according to Lewis. An effective cybersecurity solution would be painful for everyone, legislators and businesses included.

"If the law stated that companies involved in security incidents had to shut down their business until they could prove they had addressed the issues, the number of breaches would be low and the level of security across all sectors would improve dramatically," Lewis said.

Lewis added that organizations responsible for managing critical infrastructure would need help upgrading their technology infrastructures and implementing best-practice solutions. Making improvements to these systems without hindering operations can be costly, but the first step would be to hold organizations accountable for security.

Source: thawte.com

New Ways to Force Browsers to be Safe

HTTPS is old (it was devised in 1994 by Netscape for Navigator), but it has always been seen as optional for most sites. That is changing, as the number of real-world abuses of users on the web increases. Using HTTPS makes safe browsing much easier. 2 developments in web technology make it easier to use HTTPS more often. One is a client-side technology, the other a new server-client standard.

Many sites support HTTPS but don't default to it. In order to help users invoke HTTPS on the site, the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) and the Tor Project created HTTPS Everywhere, a Firefox add-on which reviews all HTTP requests from the browser to sites on a whitelist and changes them to appropriate HTTPS requests. HTTPS Everywhere maintains rules for over 1000 sites on the whitelist.

There are some downsides to HTTPS Everywhere, starting with the fact that it only works with Firefox. Other browsers, such as Google Chrome, don't support the features (mainly request rewriting) that HTTPS Everywhere needs. This may change in the future. The other problem with the HTTPS Everywhere approach is that the maintainers of it need to keep up with the zillions of sites on the Internet as opposed to having a generic solution.

HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) goes at the problem in a different way. It is a standard through which web sites can tell clients (mainly browsers) that they will only support HTTPS communications.
If a client makes an HTTP request and HSTS is enabled on the server, the server responds with a special header 'Strict-Transport-Security' and a 'max-age' parameter specifying the number of seconds during which the client may only reconnect over HTTPS. While the initial HTTP request is unprotected, the client should know to use only secure communications thereafter.

HSTS has been supported in Google Chrome and Firefox since version 4 of each browser. Many web sites, including PayPal and a number of Google subdomains (chrome.google.com, checkout.google.com, etc.), support it.

In the long run, standards like HSTS are a better solution than hacks like HTTPS Everywhere. Currently Internet Explorer has no support for either and I see no indication that Microsoft plans to support them (or that the EFF is interested in supporting Internet Explorer for that matter).

Source: pcmag.com

Lessons Learnt From FinFisher Mobile Spyware

FinFisher, a controversial spyware toolkit being used by oppressive regimes to track activists, can also take over smartphones, researchers unveiled on Wednesday.  

Earlier this year, Bahraini activists sent U.S.-based researchers samples of computer spyware that was being delivered through spoofed emails. When downloaded onto Windows systems, the spyware would record Skype calls, copy emails, take screenshots, capture keystrokes, and send the data to remote servers (command and control centers, or C&C). So far, with the help of Rapid7, C&Cs have been found in 15 countries across five continents, including the United States, Australia, Singapore, and Bahrain. For most cases it's unclear if the governments of these countries are manning the servers or if they're just intermediaries. 

The researchers, led by Citizen Lab, identified the spyware as part of the FinFisher toolkit sold by UK-based Gamma International. Gamma markets the products as software to help governments and law enforcement agencies capture criminals, but advocates say it is being used by oppressive governments to clamp down on activists without criminal records. 

"You're Carrying a Potential Wire Tap"

Shortly after Bloomberg broke the story about the PC version of Finfisher, samples of Gamma's mobile spyware, called FinSpy Mobile, were sent to researchers.

FinSpy Mobile has even more functionality: it monitors calls, texts, WhatsApp messages, and emails, captures keystrokes, steals contact lists, turns on the device microphone to record ambient sounds, and tracks owners by GPS. Citizen Lab posted a pretty thorough overview of how the Trojan works on iPhones, Androids, BlackBerries, Windows Mobiles, and Symbian devices. 

Like the PC variant, FinSpy Mobile requires some sort of human interaction to infect devices. Although Citizen Lab hasn't confirmed seeing actual delivery methods, most likely they are being distributed through Trojanized, legitimate-looking apps attached to text messages and emails. 

Bill Marczak, a computer science doctoral candidate at the University of California Berkeley who has been co-leading the research into Finfisher, is more worried about the mobile than the PC spyware. 

"What scares me more is the possibility of mobile phone Trojans," Marczak told Security Watch. "Sure I've got my computer in my room, but my mobile phone follows me everywhere I go. It always knows my location, it has my contacts, email addresses, texts, Whatsapp conversations. It has a mic," he said. "You carry your phone everywhere and don’t even realize you're carrying a potential wire tap."

The Takeaway For You and Me

For now, FinSpy Mobile isn't your every day consumer security concern, as it only appears to be used in highly-targeted attacks on activists living in oppressive regimes.

In a blog post on Thursday, ESET researcher Cameron Camp wrote that Finfisher hasn't been seen in large-scale industrial attacks, but rather, in limited, highly targeted attacks. "Obviously, if your company is doing business in the Middle East you are already on high alert for attacks of this type," he wrote. Bigger picture repercussions, like the potential spread of FinSpy Mobile to the masses, or who Gamma International should be allowed to sell its products to, are another discussion altogether. 

That said, the research does present some useful lessons for consumers. 

The first one is dead obvious for most security-conscious smartphone owners: don't install apps from untrusted sources.

Will installing an antivirus app help? Sort of. According to Marczak, "As we saw with respect to the desktop version of Finfisher, antivirus alone isn't enough, as it bypassed antivirus scans." By now most leading antivirus providers have updated their signatures to include FinSpy, but that wouldn't have helped you, say, last week. 

That's why Marczak advises taking a few additional precautions:

1. Don't click on unknown links or download attachments if you aren't confident in the sender
2. Don't give your device to untrusted people who might secretly install the malware on yor device
3. For the same reason, password-protect your phone
4. Keep your OSes and apps patched (yes, that's a problem for Android) 
5. For Android owners, activate the built-in encryption, which requires a password to decrypt every time you turn on your device. 

Encrypted communication protocols are a good idea, but Marczak said they wouldn't protect you from this type of threat, since Finfisher infects devices before an encrypted call or text even leaves the device. "Skype likes to talk about how it encrypts communications, but Finspy intercepts calls before they even go out," he said.

Source:Pcmag.com

Norton Offers To Change Top Google Result For Your Name for Free

Norton appears to be branching out from standard security into reputation management. The company has introduced a new tool called Norton Top Search that lets you control the top search result for your name, for free.

To change your top search result, all you need to do is pick a URL that you would like to pop up first when people search your name. The form to do so, found here looks like this:

After inputting your desired URL, Norton then shows you how the search result will eventually look:

Then the site asks you to verify your identity via Facebook. After that, you receive the following message: “Congratulations! Your online reputation is now protected. You will receive an email in a couple of days when your Top Search Result has been approved and published.” Whether that will be the case remains to be seen. The program appears to use Google’s AdWords to change the search results at no cost to the user.

Norton isn’t the only firm offering online reputation management tools, though. Google introduced another free tool called “Me on the Web” last year that claims to do the same thing.

What do you think? Are you eager to control the search results for your name? Sound off in the comments.

Source:mashable.com

Protect And Secure Your Website By Using Symantec SSL Certificates

Symantec is a one of the best and leading SSL Certificates provider and you want to Protect Your Website and Grow Your Business, then Use Symantec SSL Certificates. Symantec Website Security Solutions include industry-leading SSL, certificate management, vulnerability assessment and malware scanning. If you are looking for the best online business solutions then “Norton Secured Seal” and “Symantec Seal-in-Search” assure your customers that they are safe from search, to browse to buy your product or transactions. Symantec website security solutions and SSL protection protect and secure your visitors to trust your website.

Detail of All Symantec SSL Certificates:

• Secure Site Pro with EV give you 128-bit minimum to 256-bit encryption with green address bar.
• Secure Site with EV can give you , up to 256-bit encryption with green address bar.
• Secure Site Pro can give you 128-bit minimum to 256-bit encryption.
• Secure Site can give you up to 256-bit encryption.

More detail and buy Symantec SSL Certificates from its Platinum Partner website

https://www.thesslstore.com/symantec.aspx

Source: itechsoul.com

Symantec Continues to Grow Market Share in SSL

Last week Netcraft released its monthly report on global SSL certificate issuance and market share. The report states that Symantec experienced another banner month of growth.  According to the August 2012 Netcraft report, Symantec saw the largest overall gain in net new SSL certificates. We continue to remain the overall SSL market leader with a market share of 38.4% (Netcraft, August 2012).  Our internal Symantec model actually reflects that Symantec has a much larger market share as many large Enterprises use our SSL certificates behind their firewalls where Netcraft is unable to explore.

Symantec also continues to dominate the Extended Validation (EV) SSL market segment, outpacing the competition in terms of growth while issuing 64.5% of all active EV SSL certificates today. EV SSL certificates offer the highest level of validation, and provide consumers the absolute highest level of trust in the websites they are sharing data with. It’s important to highlight that almost two-thirds of all websites worldwide that use EV SSL trust Symantec to validate their organizations and protect their data in transit over a HTTPS connection.

Thanks to all of our customers and partners who continue to prefer our Symantec, GeoTrust and Thawte branded certificates and our value proposition over the competition.

When you’re proud of your successes you should share it, and I am certainly proud of how Symantec continues to demonstrate leadership in the Certificate Authority industry through our market performance as well as through our actions. We signed the CA/B Forum Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (IPR), working collaboratively with other CA’s to drive innovation in SSL security; last month we were the first CA to publicly announce our commitment to the CA/B Forum Baseline Requirements; and we continue to provide significant value to our customers and to Internet users around the world.

Making sure that everyone’s safe on the web is certainly something to be proud of – being the world leader at it is just confirmation that we’re committed and driven to be the best at something that everyone benefits from.

source:symantec

Fire Fox Changes to Identify Website Uniqueness When Website Carry SSL Certificates

You know how Firefox adds that tiny favicon site-identifier within the address bar? Firefox is on the point of creating some changes to that to form websites safer for users.

Firefox has continually included the small lock favicon on the way left of the address bar to notice that an internet web site employing a secure association. This can be particularly necessary when it involves using websites that collect data like Credit cards numbers for purchases.

But within the past some websites set their favicon to be a padlock to trick users into thinking that they're employing a secure affiliation. That’s not cool and with the newest nightly update to Firefox, Mozilla is removing favicon from the address bar.

In their place are going to be three visual notifies that denote the safety of the net web site in question. The primary notifier takes on the form of a green padlock next to certificate owner’s organization name to symbolize a Web site that uses Extended Validation SSL Certificate.

The second is for Web sites that use SSL certificates without Extended Validation. It uses a gray padlock without the effective host name like below.

The acquainted globe icon can currently be used for internet sites that don’t use SSL certificates or have mixed content.

Source:itmashable.com

6 Important Tips to secure your credential data on Social Media Platform

1. Look for the padlock, ‘https,’ or the color green in the address bar. The “s” in ‘https’ stands for secure.
2. Look for the Norton Secured Seal the most recognized trust mark on the Internet  
3. Be wary of shortened URLs even if they come from “friends.”
4. Check and review all of your privacy and security settings. Make sure that the “Always use https” option is turned on.
5. Avoid unsecure public WiFi networks. “Free” WiFi can come at a price.
6. Change your passwords regularly and make sure they’re strong.

Hackers Increasingly Target Small Businesses, Symantec Warns

The percentage of targeted attacks aimed at small businesses doubled in the first half of 2012, an indication that hackers are dedicating more resources to what they see as the most vulnerable marks, a major security vendor said.

In the first six months of the year, more than a third of targeted attacks on businesses were pointed toward companies with fewer than 250 employees. That was twice the percentage of attacks aimed at similar sized companies at the end of 2011, Symantec said in its mid-year Intelligence Report.

A targeted attack is one that's tailored to a specific company. Cybercriminals customize malware to particular vulnerabilities and use information gathered publicly -- or stolen from other companies -- to create emails with malicious attachements that have a higher chance of being opened by employees. That type of social engineering has proved successful despite corporate efforts to bolster security training and warn workers away from opening potentially dangerous emails.

Companies in the defense industry are the top targets of such attacks, followed by chemical and pharmaceutical firms and manufacturing companies, respectively. Large companies with more than 2500 employees remain the most popular targets, however, accounting for 44 percent of all targeted attacks in the first half of the year, Symantec says.

Hackers are shifting resources toward small companies because they often partner with large businesses in fulfilling major contracts. Because smaller companies can be the weakest link in the chain, cybercriminals use them to gain information they can use to penetrate the defenses of their larger partners.

"They (small businesses) are not as prepared, because they don't think they have to be, and that's left them vulnerable," Kevin Haley, director of Symantec's Security Response unit, said Friday.
Smaller Budgets, But Not Defenseless

Smaller Budgets, But Not Defenseless

Small businesses also lack the money of larger companies to buy expensive technology that can bolster defenses. "SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) tend not to have the resources to implement the same types of security programs large enterprises do," Eric Maiwald, an analyst for Gartner, said in an interview via email.

Small businesses can greatly improve their chances of fending off attacks by just following basic best practices, such as having a process in place to ensure all software is up-to-date and patched. In general, hackers go after known vulnerabilities, so having the latest version of an application goes a long way towards protecting company data.

"They don't have to be genius hackers, because the basic steps to protect themselves are not being taken by a lot of small businesses," Haley said.

In terms of the number of targeted attacks, Symantec blocked an average of 58 a day aimed at small businesses in the first half of the year. Overall, the number of daily attacks on all businesses increased about 24% to around 154.

Source:pcworld.com

If you don’t Gain your Website Users Trust, You Won’t Get Their Money

Buyers are viewing their cash more carefully in this economic climate, and one factor they pay interest to is whether an online e-commerce store or shop website is trustworthy for making payment or for sharing them credential details.

The current economic climate has tightly bind consumers to not open their wallet strings easily, All online users always thinks twice for making online payment or before sharing their credential details online. To get online users to open their wallets, online business must be instill this sense of trust.

Extended Validation Certificates are one of the best solutions to gain web customers trust. EV SSL helps you to providing security mechanism with authentication, encryption and validation. Any Website which carry EV SSL then website will look like below in web browsers.

As, online phishing attacks are increasing day by day trust indicator, like “Green Address Bar” helps to gain online customers trust. An online survey proven that 97% of online shoppers are likely to share their credit card details with the websites which are carries “Green Address Bar” which shows that consumers are not won’t share their banking details with non trustable websites and they are knowing that green equal to safe for online shopping.

In uncertain times, online shoppers always want to be certain for where they can spend their money. And for giving same type of trust more and more ecommerce website owners are likely to decorate their website URLs with “Green EV Bar” by purchasing Extended Validation SSL for their websites.

Web authentication and real time certificate checking, these two factors makes EV SSL as a first choice for online ecommerce stores.

Extended Validation Certificates Features:

1.       Offering Green Address Bar for your website.

2.      EV SSL Certificate has carry 99.9% Browser compatibility and also extended validation certificate are compatible with mobile browsers like Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer, Apple Iphone, Ipad Safari, Netfront 3.0+ and many more.

3.      Encryption Strength Up to 40-bit minimum, 256-bit maximum which mean your website data is fully secured.

4.      Extensive Business and Domain Validation.

5.      Symantec EV SSL Certificates carry Norton Secured Seal and website Vulnerability Assessment totally free which makes your website more trustable and secured.

Source:http://www.techmaish.com/if-you-dont-gain-your-website-users-trust-you-wont-get-their-money/

Symantec Wildcard SSL: Single SSL Certificate Securing Unlimited Sub Domains with High Encryption Strength

Selecting SSL Certificate for your online Multi Sub domains is always ask you to choose best SSL Certificate which reduce cost and time for managing same certificate. If you have multi sub domains and you want to secure all your multi sub domains with single SSL and at one place only then Symantec Wildcard SSL is one of the best option to securing unlimited sub domain which are sharing the same base domain name.

Symantec the Highest SSL Certificates Selling Company in the world offering Symantec Secure Site Wildcard SSL Certificate for securing unlimited sub domains on single SSL Platform. Symantec Wildcard SSL Certificate allows highest level of SSL encryption level for multi sub domains using sing SSL Certificate. For Example if you are choosing Symantec Wildcard SSL Certificate for Company ABC which is using multiple sub domains which end with **.ABC.com then you can secure following types of sub domains like:

• Login.abc.com
• Payment.abc.com
• Support.abc.com

And many more same like above.

Symantec Secure Site Wildcard SSL is a premium Wildcard SSL Solution from Symantec which can reduce your cost, hassles and more importantly your time while still delivering the utmost security and trust the web can provide. Symantec Wildcard SSL makes you SSL management simple and easier.

You also get the dynamically date stamped Norton Secured Seal to display so your web site visitors will know instantly that your security is current. When a customer clicks on the True Site Smart Seal, the server automatically performs a domain look-up to verify they are visiting a legitimate site. The result is greater customer confidence with assurances, more e-commerce activity and a significant increase in online revenue.

Symantec Wildcard SSL Certificates Features and Benefits:

• Secure UNLIMITED Sub Domains!
• Full business validation
• Enables 256-bit encryption
• FREE lifetime, self-service reissues
• Includes a True Site identity assurance Smart Seal - embedded organization name /date/time stamp
• Compatible with 99.9%+ of all browsers
• AICPA Web Trust compliant
• Optional - Installation Support Available!
• $125,000 Warranty

10 features make “True BusinessID EV Multi Domain” as a first choice for securing Multi Domain with Single SSL Certificate

When you have multiple domain for your business or for services and when you are deciding to secure your all domain with “Green Address Bar” with EV SSL Certificate (Extended Validation Certificate). And at the same time if you are searching best EV SSL which is secured your multi domain with green address bar then “True BusinessID EV Multi Domain” is the best choice for securing your multi domain with single SSL certificate.

Now you think why “GeoTrust True BusinessID EV Multi Domain SSL” is the best for securing multi domains? Don’t worry here is the best 10 features which makes True BusinessID EV Multi Domain SSL as a first choice for most of websites owners.

1.Secure both NON-WWW and WWW Domain:  GeoTrust True BusinessID EV Multi Domain is helping you to secure both www and non www domain name with high encryption strength on single SSL. Which means you can reduce your cost by installing only one SSL Certificate for your multi domain rather than purchasing and maintaining separate SSL Certificates for all domain names.

2.Offering Green Address Bar: When you are purchasing “GeoTrust True BusinessID EV Multi Domain SSL” you can get “Green Address Bar for website. Green Address Bar helps you to increase customer confidence to maximize online sales potential.

3.256-bit SSL encryption Strength: it’s providing up to 256-bit SSL encryption strength which mean your website confidential data is fully secured with high encryption strength.

4.Unlimited server licenses at no extra cost: you can get unlimited server licenses and unlimited free reissues for certificate lifetime. You can install on any number of servers

5.Domain Validation:  True BusinessID EV Multi Domain SSL validates your domain names and your domain name will display in certificate.

6.99% Browser Compatibility: GeoTrust True BusinessID EV Multi Domain SSL has 99% of web browser compatibility means your certificate will not face browser compatibility issue even in smart phone or in mobile browsers. Also its Enables EV interface for IE7 on Windows XP clients with EV Upgrader.

7.Multiplicity: SAN / Multi-Domain / UCC options are available for True BusinessID EV Multi Domain SSL.

8,Free GeoTrust Site Seal: True BusinessID EV Multi Domain SSL includes “Free GeoTrust Site Seal” which help you to increase online trust. It’s includes a True Site Seal identity verification - embedded organization name/date/time stamp.

9.Convenience: GeoTrust True BusinessID EV Multi Domain SSL will be issued in 1-10 business days. And also 1-2 year validity options are available for same certificates.

10.Assurance: “GeoTrust True BusinessID EV Multi Domain” SSL Certificate carries $150k warranty. Which means you and your websites are fully secured with high level of warranty.

source:itmashable.com

Symantec achieves highest number of SSL Certificates Issued Globally

Industry security leader surpasses all Certificate Authorities in SSL technology history

Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced that it has issued the largest number of active SSL certificates worldwide, according to the April 2012 Netcraft Survey. With 811,511 installed SSL certificates, Symantec beats its nearest competitor by more than 200,000 active SSL certificates, demonstrating clear leadership in the global SSL certificate market. Symantec experienced the largest growth of net new SSL certificates, an increase of 14,768 certificates, according to the April Netcraft SSL Survey.

Current Netcraft data also shows a significant 41.3 percent year over year growth of installed Symantec EV SSL certificates. This growth demonstrates the deepening trust organizations have on EV SSL certificates, while positioning Symantec SSL as the committed leader of the EV SSL market with a staggering 65.1 percent total market share. The EV SSL market will continue to thrive as EV SSL certificates provide organizations with the reassurance needed to protect online transactions and communications.
The April 2012 Netcraft SSL Survey reports that Symantec led the industry in net new SSL certificates across all three recognized segments, Extended Validation SSL (EV SSL), Organization Validated SSL (OV SSL), and Domain Validated SSL (DV SSL).

"The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that over 650 third party Certificate Authorities currently exist," said Fran Rosch, vice president, Identity and Authentication Services. "The Netcraft report for April confirms that, website owners need to put their trust in a CA that provides top notch protection against growing cyber security threats. At Symantec, we continue to invest in both our own security infrastructure and in the relationships we've built with website owners and Internet users around the world. When it comes to the value of dedicated website security, consumer trust and a sustainable business partner, not all Certificate Authorities are created equal."

Source:nationmultimedia.com

How to Recover from Google Penguin Penalty?

April 24, 2012 was a nasty day for millions of SEO Experts and for Website Owners as on that day, Google has announced its first update called as “Google Penguin” for decreasing ranking for over optimization websites. Many small online business websites come at the ground zero level from Google Penguin update.

Before Google, Penguin updates, Many small-business people get the pleasant revenue from them online website by achieving excellent ranking in Google for them targeted keywords. However, this entire story just now reversed after “Google Penguin” update. So many websites which have good values suddenly all they are come to zero level from Google update. As per survey, many small business websites losing 50-60% online revenue after “Google Penguin” update.

Among all pros and cons, the positive sign for SEO professionals and for website, owner is your website can come out from Google Penguin If you work with old link data of your website. So I am just sharing with you the best and easy process to come out from “Google Penguin Penalty”

1. Check your website Status In Google: Very first step is just check out how many pages are indexed in Google you can check same by writing site:www.example.com in Google Search bar.

2. Collect Internal Link Data: Collect the Internal link data from Google Webmaster account.

3. Flter Internal Link Data: Filter the internal link data and collecting the URLS of your website pages which carries more than 100 links and pages, which carry external links.

4. Remove Internal links: Now works on pages which carry more than 100 links just try to reduce internal links because as per “Google Bot” like up to 100 links per page. In addition, add tags for external links so link juice factors will not be affected to internal pages.

5. Collect Link to Your Site Data (Back link Data): Just Collect the Link to your site data from Google Webmaster account and filter all the data with unique domain. Now identify the links which are not relevant to your website and also filtering multiples links from one website.

Example: If you have a website, and you have opened up multiple accounts in Social Bookmarking website and submitting one URL with different urls which mean you are doing spamming activities for your web page as per “Google Penguin updates”. So just collect the link data and short out with domain names and remove the multiple listings from same websites.

As per “Google Penguin” update irrelevant profile links is badly harm your website ranking. So precisely collect your old link building data and remove the unnatural forum profile links from irrelevant forum platforms.

6. Resolve Duplicate Content Issue: As your website carries to duplicate content then also you will slap out from Google through “Google Penguin” update. So just check out your website content and check with www.copyscape.com and if its display the original source of content then replaced your duplicate content with unique content. Remember Google also find out spinning content easily so don’t tried to use spinning content of other websites.

Resolve Internal Link Structure Issue: As in past many website owners or SEO experts just use the targeted keyword as an “Anchor Text” many times in internal link structures by giving links in the footer. However, all these tactics now not work anymore. So if your website carried multiple pages for same services and your website footer is filled up with links on “Anchor Texts” then just try to remove from the footer put unique links in the footer. Additionally, just try to cover numerous keywords in one page only rather than creating numerous pages for same services. And if you have already then just given priority to any one page and apply 301 redirections on remaining pages, which carry a similar type of content.

7.Send the Reconsideration Request to Google: After checking all above points send the reconsideration request to Google from Google Webmaster and also send the data of removing anomalous links, so they precisely believe that you are really work out on removing unnatural links.

Source:http://reviewsontech.com/seo-blogging/google-penguin-affect-small-online-business-and-how-to-come-out-from-google-penguin-penalty.html