Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates are certificates provided by your server to your web browser that encrypt your data transfer. This is particularly important when accessing your confidential information (such as simPRO or Internet Banking) from public locations such as wifi hotspots. SSL certificates must be created against a domain name (eg. simpro.com.au). There are two types of certificates:

1)      CA Signed SSL Certificates – These are certificates that are signed by a Certificate Authority. When applying for a CA signed SSL certificate, you are asked to verify that you own the domain name and some providers actually require phone number verification. If you are a hosted simPRO customer (using our datacenter), you automatically get one of these certificates set up for you (eg. simproelectrical.acornsoftware.com.au). If you are accessing your hosted simPRO site over an ip address (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx), please contact the helpdesk for your .acornsoftware.com.au address.

2)      Self-Signed SSL Certificates – This is the type of certificate that comes by default with a dedicated simPRO server. They carry the same amount of encryption as a CA signed certificate, however to your browser it is viewed as “not trusted”, however the data sent to and from your simPRO server is still encrypted. Most browsers allow you to remove the SSL warnings, please visit our wiki at wiki.acornsoftware.com.au for tips on how to do this.

So what are the pros and cons?

CA signed certificates will remove the certificate warnings for all browsers. This is important if you have customers accessing your client side of simPRO to lodge jobs. However CA signed certificates are not free, and require renewal regularly.

Self-Signed SSL Certificates are free of charge, and the renewal period can be set as long as you require. They provide the same level of encryption as CA signed certificates. However they will display an error message in all browsers.

If you would like to discuss your options regarding SSL certificates, please contact the helpdesk via phone, online chat or email.

Matthew Young
Systems Engineer