What Is SSL Certificate And Why You Should Monitor It

Surfing on the internet can be scary, especially with recent cyber attacks. Sharing your personal information could end up in the palms of cybercriminals. This is crucial if you are a website owner. So what should you do to keep your website visitors feel safe and secure? Don’t worry, we got you. In this article, you’ll be informed about SSL certificate, why you should have it, and why you should monitor your SSL Certificate.

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What is an SSL Certificate and what is it used for?

SSL is the globally accepted standard for securing web traffic, and it's easy to see why. It protects your data from being stolen or intercepted by anyone in between you and the website you're visiting. It accomplishes this by associating an organization's specifics with a cryptographic key. Every SSL Certificate contains the name of the certificate holder, serial number, and an expiration date. After the expiration date, it should be renewed.

SSL certificates are used to maintain the security and privacy of a server and client connection, which is commonly a web server and a browser or a mail server and a mail client. It uses SSL technology to encrypt the data and authenticates the legitimacy of the website. 

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Why do you need an SSL Certificate?

It’s basically a certificate that ensures the user that your website is trustworthy. Without it, you might lose potential customers and it could result in less traffic on your website. Your website would not load properly and it could cause a loss of revenue on your side. Another important thing is that in many countries, you have to own an SSL certificate. Otherwise, you might face fines. Even worse, you could lose the trust of your fellow customers/visitors. If we have to get real, it is VITAL. 

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How can you tell if a website has an SSL certificate or not?

VERY simple. When you are visiting a website, pay close attention to the URL bar. It should be green and you should be seeing “https://” right before the domain name or a green padlock. If you are seeing a warning that says “your connection is not secure”, run. Your data might be vulnerable to 3rd parties. You wouldn’t want that, I wouldn’t want that, NO ONE would want that. 

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Why should you use MonSpark to keep track of your SSL Certificates?

We all get too busy and forget to keep track of important things. You would NOT want to pass the expiration date of your SSL certificate. If it expires, you could lose visitors and potential customers. Seeing the “not secure” warning on a website is a scarecrow for your visitors. But guess what? We are here. MonSpark can monitor your SSL Certificate, so you don’t have to. We let you know days before the expiration date, and we do not risk it. You can customize when would you like to be informed about the expiration date: 1 month, 14 days, 1 week, or 1 day. You are one click away from a no-effort SSL certificate monitoring world. We got you. For more information, check out our SSL Monitoring feature.

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Summary

SSL certificates are a great way to protect your site and boost your business. By choosing a trusted certificate authority, you can make sure that your customers’ data will be safe from prying eyes. In addition, having an SSL certificate will make it easier for your visitors to find and trust your website. Missing the expiration date is not cool, at all, therefore MonSpark is your bestfriend. 

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Until next time, stay safe & secure!