ecommerce recommendations and related topics
digital certificate
An attachment to an electronic message used for security purposes. The most common use of a digital certificate is to verify that a user sending a message is who he or she claims to be, and to provide the receiver with the means to encode a reply.
An individual wishing to send an encrypted message applies for a digital certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA). The CA issues an encrypted digital certificate containing the applicant's public key and a variety of other identification information. The CA makes its own public key readily available through print publicity or perhaps on the Internet.
The recipient of an encrypted message uses the CA's public key to decode the digital certificate attached to the message, verifies it as issued by the CA and then obtains the sender's public key and identification information held within the certificate. With this information, the recipient can send an encrypted reply.
The most widely used standard for digital certificates is X.509.
Also see SSL: Your Key to E-commerce Security in Webopedia's "Did You Know...?" section. 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. CRM Definition
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an data industry locution for
methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that aid an enterprise operate customer
relationships in an organized and efficient manner. In many cases, an enterprise builds a
database about its customers. This database describes relationships in sufficient detail so that
management, salespeople, and customer supply reps can access data; match customer needs with
product plans and offerings; remind customers of supply requirements; know what other products a
customer had purchased; etc. RM Definition Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an data
industry locution for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that aid an
enterprise operate customer relationships in an organized and efficient manner. In many cases,
an enterprise builds a database about its customers. This database describes relationships in
sufficient detail so that management, salespeople, and customer supply reps can access data;
match customer needs with product plans and offerings; remind customers of supply requirements;
know what other products a customer had purchased; etc.
