• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client—typically a web server (website) and a browser; or a mail server and a mail client (e.g., Outlook).

• 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:

Why use SSL? To Encrypt Sensitive Information

• The primary reason why SSL is used is to keep sensitive information sent across the Internet encrypted so that only the intended recipient can understand it.

• This is important because the information you send on the Internet is passed from computer to computer to get to the destination server.

• Any computer in 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 an SSL certificate is used, the information becomes unreadable to everyone except for the server you are sending the information to. This protects it from hackers and identity thieves.

  SSL Certificate in Windows Azure: SSL certificates used with Azure Websites must be signed by a Certificate Authority (CA)

  The certificate must meet the following requirements for SSL certificates in Azure:

1. The certificate must contain a private key.

2. The certificate must be created for key exchange, exportable to a Personal Information Exchange (.pfx) file.

3. The certificate's subject name must match the domain used to access the website. If you need to serve multiple domains with this certificate, you will need to use a wildcard value or specify subjectAltName values as discussed previously.

4. The certificate should use a minimum of 2048-1 bit encryption.

5. Certificates issued from private CA servers are not supported by Azure Websites.

6. To get an SSL certificate for use with Azure Websites, you submit a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) to a Certificate Authority and then generate a .pfx file from the certificate you receive back.