What is an SSL certificate

[XemaSab]

and why would I possibly need one?

Ditto for a designated IP address.

Thanks.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

1. Secure Socket Layer.

Tells you the site is who they say they are.

[ipfilter]

2. It's used as a public key for encryption.

If you run a website you can get one from, say, Verisign. Web browsers already trust SSL certs by them so they can connect to an SSL enabled website without getting a warning.

[XemaSab]

3. Okay

I don't think I need one. :)

[ipfilter]

4. That's only one use.

There are other reasons why you might need one. Chances are, if you need one, you will know.

[mwooldri]

5. SSL certificate is necessary if you aim to handle secure data.

Any online store worth its salt uses SSL. Low budget ones might keep data like your name, address and what you've ordered unencrypted but pass the more sensitive data (e.g. your credit card number) over to Paypal for them to process securely.

Designated IP address: you need that if you're going to run any kind of Internet services such as a web host, an email server, a domain name server, etc. If all you do is use the services but don't operate or run them then a dynamic IP address (one that your internet service provider provides you for a specific time and then may change it on you later on) will work just fine. It's possible to run Internet services on a dynamic IP address but it requires fudging around and a 3rd party service which themselves need a static IP address.

Mark.