Network Solutions Helps Increase Online Shopping Security for Millions of Small Businesses on the Internet

HERNDON, Va. (BusinessWire EON) June 12, 2007 --     Small, unincorporated business owners with online storefronts have cause for celebration this summer, as the Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate guidelines that had once placed them at a huge disadvantage against the "big box" e-tailers, have been modified to level the playing field. The Certification Authority/Browser Forum, whose members include certification authorities like Network Solutions(R) and leading browser vendors, decided that EV SSL certificates can be made available to more than 18 million US-based small businesses that were previously ineligible to qualify for this level of online shopping security.

EV SSL certificates provide the highest and most advanced level of online shopping security currently available. The certificates include state-of-the-art encryption technology and rigorous validation criteria that applicants must meet to be eligible to qualify for the extended validation certificates.

The Certification Authority/Browser Forum is a professional association charged with defining the guidelines and the means for implementing the e-commerce and security EV SSL certificates for increased online shopping security. Earlier drafts of their guidelines prohibited unincorporated small businesses from obtaining EV SSL certificates. As an industry-leading resource and advocate for online small businesses, Network Solutions raised concerns about the overly restrictive EV criteria and stepped up its call to action to quickly expand the guidelines. The guidelines for issuance and management of EV SSL certificates now allow applications from government entities, private organizations and all business entities, incorporated and unincorporated, but not individuals.

A major concern of small business owners went beyond their ineligibility for the EV SSL level of online shopping security; the EV SSL certificates' helpful visual cues would have placed them at a competitive disadvantage. Detection of EV SSL certificates by next-generation Web browsers like Microsoft's(R) Internet Explorer(R) 7 turns the address bar green thereby giving shoppers an immediately recognizable assurance that a site is trustworthy and safe for transacting business. The address bars of ineligible businesses that do not have an EV SSL certificate remain white and therefore could deter shoppers, who are used to seeing the green bars, from transacting business on a Web site.

"Thanks to Network Solutions' relentless championing of small business' concerns within the Certification Authority/Browser Forum, we are pleased that changes have finally been made to the official EV guidelines to open up eligibility for an Extended Validation SSL certificate to the 70-percent of small businesses that previously were not eligible," explains Jeff Grosman, senior vice president of Product Marketing for Network Solutions. "Now more than 18 million additional small businesses are eligible to compete on a level playing field with big box retailers without having to worry about being behind the eight-ball when it comes to providing their customers with the highest level of online shopping security available."

To learn more about how a US-based small business can enhance their e-commerce software and increase online shopping security with the Extended Validation SSL certificate, please visit www.networksolutions.com.

About the CA/Browser Forum:

The Certification Authority/Browser Forum (CA/Browser Forum) is a voluntary association of leading certification authorities (CAs) and vendors of Internet browser software and other applications. Members of the CA/Browser Forum have worked closely together in defining the guidelines and means of implementation for the Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate standard as a way of providing a heightened security for Internet transactions and creating a more intuitive method of displaying secure sites to Internet users. For more information about online shopping security and EV SSL certificate guidelines and the CA/Browser Forum go to www.cabforum.org/forum.html.

About Network Solutions, LLC:

Network Solutions(R), a leading Web solutions provider and pioneer of the domain name registration service, offers Web-related services including Web hosting, web design, e-commerce software, search engine marketing, SSL certificates, e-mail services and domain registration. Network Solutions supplies affordable one-stop shopping for building and managing online storefronts and sites. Additional information about Network Solutions' offerings is available at www.networksolutions.com.

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