Beginning July 2018, the new version of Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as ‘Not secure’ and prominently highlight this in the URL bar in an effort to create a more secure internet.

The information you send on the Internet is passed from computer to computer to get to the destination server. Any computer between you and the server can see your credit card numbers, usernames and passwords, and other sensitive information if it is not encrypted with an SSL certificate. When installed on a web server, a certificate will activate the padlock and the HTTPS protocol to allow secure connections from a web server to a browser. Bluehost now provides free SSL certificates for all assigned and parked domain names set up in your account.

AutoSSL is a cPanel feature that automatically installs and renews Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates for every assigned or parked domain on a Bluehost hosting account. In most cases, the SSL will automatically assign and install itself to your new and existing domains; however, some customers may need to enable the certificate manually.

When customers see a Not Secure warning, they are less likely to enter any information on your site. When an SSL is installed, the address bar changes to show customers that the site is Secure, as shown below.

To avoid a potential loss in traffic or revenue, you can add an SSL Certificate for each website being hosted with Bluehost

Securing your website with an SSL Certificate

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. An SSL is the standard security protocol for establishing encrypted links between a web server and a browser. The web server is where a website is stored, while a browser is what we use to view and interact with that site. To summarize, an SSL Certificate acts as a Security Guard, escorting information entered into your site through a browser back to the server and vice-versa. 

Why is encryption so important?

Without encryption, data passing between your business and customers can put both parties at risk. Smaller companies that don't employ a security team are especially vulnerable. 

A simple SSL Certificate can help to protect your business by:

• Authentication: Validates that customers are talking to your servers and not someone pretending to be you.
• Data Integrity: Prevents third parties from modifying the communications between your customer's computer and your servers or even injecting unwanted content into blog posts.
• Data Encryption: Keeps the data passing between you and your customers private so that malicious third parties can't develop a profile on you or your customers.
• Boosted SEO: Google has started to give a slight boost in the ranking of websites that use an SSL Certificate.

A simple SSL Certificate cannot:

• Detect and remove malware
• Detect and remove website security vulnerabilities
• Manage search engine ranking and/or reputation
• Provide a web application firewall
• Protect website against DDoS attacks

In an effort to meet these new security requirements, Bluehost will be offering free basic SSL Certificates to help our customers keep their businesses growing. If you’re a Bluehost customer, watch your inbox for more details on activating and managing your SSL.