Usage of the internet is steadily increasing, with the percentage of individuals using the Internet worldwide at 43.4%, while in Europe at 77.6%* in 2015. Avantio analyses the trends in the holiday rental property management industry as well as the wider internet trends, continuously looking for ways to respond proactively to protect users from the increasing damage caused by hackers and cyber criminals and provide the best vacation rental property management software.
SSL Certificate with Avantio Vacation Rental Management Software
There is a movement across the internet to secure the payment pages of websites, however the rest of the site is often left untouched, exposing users personal details.
SSL Certificate
One solution which meets PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is the SSL certificate. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, which is the technology that encrypts information between a web browser and a web server.
By installing an SSL certificate, the whole site is secured, checking the identity of remote computers, proving the identity of the site by an authorised Certificate Authority, and encrypting the information shared between the two using a 256 bit encryption.
There are a variety of types of SSL certificates, designed to cover the differing needs of the market, for example single or multiple domains and subdomains.
Users can check the certificate manually or simply look at the visible indicators on the URL address bar, meaning that customers looking for holiday accommodation or serviced apartments have an increased confidence in using that site. For a standard SSL certificate this can be seen with a green padlock and the change from the traditional http to https at the beginning of the URL address.
Certificate Authorities
SSL certificates are issued by Certificate Authorities (CAs) and can be purchased through web companies.
Avantio is proud to be able to do this for our vacation rental property managers in two ways:
- Firstly you can purchase the SSL Certificate for your holiday rental property site to offer your customers a greater confidence in your business and protect their data.
- Secondly, as part of our commitment to securing your data, we have added the SSL Certificate to our entire Vacation rental management software to offer you more security in your use of our online software.
Through increased security of the websites, ratings of companies who have SSL Certificate will be increased. Thanks to Google’s policy on this topic, this means that sites with SSL Certificate will enjoy higher opportunities for web visibility. This combined with increased customer confidence could lead to more sales, better access to the property management services and allow customer interaction.
For more information about the PCI SSC please visit the PCI website.
*2015 figures estimated by The International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
