SSL Mail:

SSL, Secure Sockets Layer, is a protocol that transmits private documents via the Internet.  Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer support SSL by requiring an SSL connection that starts with https: instead of the normal http: websites.  Now with your Mail, the SSL connection is used to transmit confidential messages across the Internet.  Moreover, Customers can access their e-mail accounts on a secure https: web-based interface.  Plus, IONet offers Virus Protection, Spam Filtering, and the latest Security Patches for your email account.

SSL Detailed Information:

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a protocol developed by Netscape and approved as a standard by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for sending private documents via the Internet. Non-secure data can be compromised on its journey between mail servers and your computer's mail client. It can be copied or altered at routing points, or intercepted by an intruding server pretending to be the legal recipient of the message. SSL encrypts data that is only sent between your computer and other SSL servers on the Internet.

You may see the terms SSL and TLS or Transport Layer Security being used interchangeably. TLS is an extension of SSL. SSL encrypts messages and attachments, but ONLY in transport. They are encrypted as they travel from your local computer to an SSL mail server, and then that SSL mail server sends to another SSL recipient, but the message and/or attachment is not encrypted as it sits on the mail server, nor is it encrypted after it arrives at the recipient’s desktop. SSL differs from protocols like S/MIME (Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), which encrypt messages and attachments, not only while in transport, but at your local computer before the message is sent, while being routed to any other server[s] (SSL-enabled or not) on the Internet, and then they must be decrypted at the email receiver's computer before they can be read. Nevertheless, SSL is your cost-effective solution to meet standard security requirements.

SSL provides protection for your data by means of three security measures:

CLIENT AUTHENTICATION: verifies that the client can uniquely identify the server, and can ensure that data transfer will be protected.

DATA ENCRYPTION: the data is scrambled using complex encryption algorithms, so that it cannot be deciphered if it is intercepted en route.

DATA INTEGRITY CHECKS: ensures that there has been no alteration of the data during transit.