Web User Experience Blog

With the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple Co-Founder, I got to reflecting on what are some of the key learnings and takeaways of his design genius that he imparted on our industry and me personally.

1. Design is powerful.
Good design is powerful and something that is well-designed from the inside out has the ability to make a huge impact. Steve Jobs famously said that "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." A product that is well-crafted—whether it is digital or physical—can inspire a reaction and action from people.

2. Designs should be tasteful.
Sleek, sophisticated, exquisite, and even cute are some of the adjectives that can be associated with Apple products. Even if something works well but has no design esthetic, it will be a hard sell. Functionality and finesse weaved together are a winning formula.

3. Keep it user-friendly and interactive.
Easy to use, engaging, and fun are what keep people interested and invested. A learning curve is okay but it should be intuitive and fast. Anything new would require some degree of learning. Apple products are easy to use and there is a learning curve but they are designed with the tenets of simplicity and usability in mind.

4. Keep iterating.
To take a page from the Steve Jobs design playbook, even a good design can be improved upon. He kept improving upon his products and making what was already great even better and better.

5. Think different.
Designs that push the boundaries and don't fit the norm but are innovative and futuristic are what epitomizes Apple products. Don't be afraid to think outside the box and be creative in designing solutions that are pleasing to your users.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Same Check. New Name. No Hassle.

The VeriSign Trust Seal which you have come to recognize as a symbol of trust on websites, is undergoing a rebranding and redesign.

The VeriSign Trust Seal will be renamed the Norton Secured Seal. This is expected to happen in April 2012. All VeriSign seals will automatically update to the Norton™ Secured Seal at that time.

The design of the new seal follows the same form factor as the current seal with the circle and pill-shape, as well as the inclusion of the familiar checkmark. The main differences are in the color scheme and copy. The seal goes from the VeriSign cranberry to a golden yellow and gray.

Look for the new seal to morph its way onto a screen near you in April 2012.

To learn what it all means to you, visit www.verisign.com/norton-secured-seal.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am pleased to share with you the launch of a Symantec Executive blog called ePerspectives. The blog will focus on executive insights and thoughts on the information age as it relates to your businesses.

Authoring the blog is Michael Parker, Vice President of Strategic Marketing, at Symantec. Michael will have regular posts offering high-level perspectives on relevant business issues.

The first post is titled "Cyber Security: A State of Digital Denial". You can read the post here.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The GeoTrust logo recently underwent a slight modification to improve its visual profile. It is essentially the same solid brand logo you know but with a twist. We did a 180 degree switch of the logo elements - swapping the order of the graphical "G" and logo text "GeoTrust". We found that this orientation of the graphical element on the left of the text serves as a stronger anchor for the logo text. It also helps to reinforce the "G" in the logo text by appearing at the beginning of the word "GeoTrust".

No radical change here - just improving on an already strong logo design to make it even better.

Hope you like it! See it live on www.GeoTrust.com.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The below is the earliest known screenshot captured of what the first-ever website looked like.

This early creation still represents the basic tenets of good design and usability. For instance, it is highly readable and provides great contrast with a very basic white background and black text. There is no gratuitous imagery. It utilizes the times roman font-face at a legible font-size. There are blue, underlined links clearly defined which we have all come to recognize as clickable. The page is written concisely with information-carrying words hyperlinked - notice there are no "click here's". And, I bet it scales to any resolution, is cross-browser compatible, and is mobile-browser friendly :).

Twenty years later from when this web page first went live, it is still a winner in terms of ease of use and usability.

(Image sources: info.cern.ch and BusinessInsider)

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Firefox 5 web browser is now available. This latest version of the Mozilla browser offers some interesting features which are useful for designers and developers alike and ultimately beneficial to end-users.

Firefox 5 (FF5) provides support for new CSS3 styling features like CSS animations, allowing more capability for leveraging style sheet elements. FF5 also now has an upgraded graphics engine which renders text and graphics faster and sharper and automatically color-corrects images to display exactly as the image data intended. There is also support for open font formats like WOFF, TrueType, and OpenType which means that any font type - regardless of if it is installed on users' computers - will render true to type. This eliminates any limitations around using web-ready only fonts for Firefox users. Additionally, FF5 is providing HTML5 support for video which enables the use of the high-quality video compression WebM format for playing high-def HTML5 video.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 (IE) browser launched one week ago. Since, its debut, we have been seeing an adoption rate of 5.3% of users on VeriSign.com already on IE 9. And, compared to the previous week, there has been an approximately 3% drop in users to the site on IE 6 . While the percentage of IE 6 users on VeriSign.com is relatively small, the absolute number of users is still notable. Microsoft's IE 6 countdown site is a clear acknowledgment that this 10-year old version of the browser is steadily declining in usage. As of February, 2011, only 12.0% of the world was using Internet Explorer 6, which was 9 percentage points less than the previous year. IE 9, like Firefox, provides support for HTML 5 which eliminates the need for proprietary plug-ins and APIs for multimedia and graphical content. This is a huge user experience win.

Mozilla is also slated to roll out the latest version of it's Firefox 4 browser tomorrow, March 22.

VeriSign.com Homepage in IE9:

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a bit of a fun diversion. Here are some fotos of this year's RSA Conference where one lucky attendee won a smart car fortwo, compliments of Symantec.

CEO, Enrique Salem, was also a keynote. Watch video.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Free trials of all VeriSign Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates, including the industry's first-ever free trial of fully functional Extended Validation (EV) SSL, is now available starting today!

Now, website owners and operators can get a 30-day free trial of any flavor of VeriSign SSL certificates on their live websites without any obligation to buy. And, websites that don't require SSL encryption can take advantage of a 60-day free trial of the VeriSign Trust Seal. Cool!

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The VeriSign seal is seen more than a half billion times in a single day by Internet users. Additionally, more than 100,000 websites are now displaying the VeriSign seal - this is more than six times that of the second most popular security mark.

Once you have your seal, the next question is where do you put it on your site to maximize its impact. The optimal placements for the seal on your website are:

1) On your homepage near the top of the page where it is clearly visible without the need to scroll, so your customers instantly know they can trust your site.

2) On your payment pages where customers are transacting on your site.

3) On your form pages where customers are submitting their information.

4) Across your site in the header or footer, for example, so customers have the confidence at all times that your site has been verified by VeriSign.

Get more info on where to place the seal.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Special Offer!

Today only! The VeriSign Trust™Seal is going for ONLY $1 (normally $299)!

Take advantage of this one-day only offer and get the #1 trust mark on the Internet for your website.

Don't miss it! Learn more.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Leveraging the well-recognized VeriSign check mark, Symantec has officially rolled out today a new company logo. The logo brings together the Symantec name with the check mark from the recent VeriSign acquisition. The encapsulating circle is branded the Symantec yellow making it fresh and striking.

The VeriSign check mark is the most recognized symbol of trust online with up to 250 million impressions every day on more than 100,000 unique websites in 160 countries. The check mark and circle will be the common symbol used across Symantec brands including the Norton consumer brand and the Symantec Hosted Services brand.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here is a video which explains the basics of the VeriSign Trust Seal and how to manage your seal.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The VeriSign Authentication team was at SES last week talking up the VeriSign Trust Seal which was recently launched in February, and Seal-in-Search - a service where search engine users can see the VeriSign Trust Seal next to sites protected by VeriSign in their search results. This allows your company's search engine result to stand out from the competition and provides value-add information to customers which lends to their user experience.

PICS: Some of the floor action.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are very excited to be a Symantec company!

If you haven't already heard, VeriSign has been acquired by Symantec. The deal was made official on August 9, 2010.

We are very excited about new opportunities for increasing and offering you more online value.

Here's a video from Symantec, CEO, Enrique Salem, outlining the strategy:

Thank you to the folks over at Symantec for a very warm welcome. We look forward to doing great things together!

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our offices recently underwent a redesign of its own. The new furniture is MyStudio and Vivo - by Herman Miller. Here are some photos of our new digs.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm attending the next WebGuild Event on an interesting topic about yet another means for tapping into your social network: How To Find Your Next Job Using Social Media.

The event is on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 from 6-9:00 PM at LinkedIn located at 2025 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043.

Learn more.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a Web page we recently created for a cool campaign we have going. For every VeriSign Extended Validation (EV) Certificate purchased, American Forests will plant a tree. Check it out and Go Green!

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I will be at the upcoming Social Media Conference on May 18-19, 2010 at the Hyatt Santa Clara, CA. Hope to see you there!

You can keep posted on the Conference at:

• Twitter: #smsconference and #socialbizgroup
• Facebook: Social Media Strategies

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

VeriSign turned 15 on Monday! And as with any milestone, we like to celebrate the present but also look back on the journey. Here is a retrospective of the evolution of the Website. Note: some of the images on the pages are missing.

JUNE 1997:



FEBRUARY 2004:



TODAY:

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Internet Trust Index has reported a modest level of trust amongst U.S. online adults of 61.5 on a scale of 100 - with zero representing no trust and 100 representing absolute trust in the Internet. This is interesting as getting a pulse on how users perceive the Internet could be valuable for a number of reasons. It provides some insight into what activities users are likely to engage in online, whom is most active online, and where demographically. From a design perspective, this can help guide decision-making with regards to driving feature sets, look and feel, and even communication design. This can also help with regards to technology considerations such as decisions to implement trust marks on a Website such as a trust seal, green bar, or other markers.

The recently released Internet Trust Index (pdf) provides a gauge of consumer confidence on the Web. The results are compiled from a survey of U.S. adults designed to understand their Internet-related behaviors and attitudes. The survey measures nine different criteria to explore consumer's online activities, experiences, behaviors and concerns. It characterizes major Internet user groups to arrive at why some groups trust the Internet more than others and what are influencing factors. The results are sometimes surprising.

Here are some key findings:

• Though equally active online, men and women tend to engage in different
  activities. Men check sports scores more often, while women engage in
  social networking more. Women are more concerned about being online than
  men when conducting financial activities and releasing personal
  information online.


• Users in the Pacific region are more likely to engage in a wide range of
  online activities. Across all regions, up to half or more of overall users would never engage in such activities as online dating, social networking, adult content, virtual networks, managing stocks online and logging into work remotely. However, the Pacific region (compared to Mountain and West North Central regions) is less inhibited to engage in these activities, most likely due to the West Coast's more tech-savvy contingency.


• Trust in the Internet is highest in West North Central, New England and
  Mountain regions, and lowest in East South Central and East North
  Central regions.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

VeriSign CEO, Mark McLaughlin, recently did a blog post on Fortune where he refers to projections of 500 million more Internet users and 1.1 billion more Internet-enabled devices by 2013. Those are staggering numbers and could have far-reaching implications for - amongst other things - user experience across the World Wide Web and Website accessibility from varying user agents given that Websites have become such a critical part of our daily lives and the commercial world. From a competitive standpoint, design and usability of sites will probably become even more paramount in helping Websites to standout and gain a competitive edge. As his post points out, "84 million .com websites alone drive $400 billion in annual economic activity" and "one in five Americans report that losing Internet access for 24 hours would effectively shut down their work." Of the 84 million .com domains today, 11.9 million are business and e-commerce sites, 4.3 million are entertainment focused, 3.1 million are finance-related, and 1.8 million are about sports.

Interesting ranking of most .com domains by ZIP Code in the U.S.:
1. 10001 (Manhattan): 9,611
2. 95814 (Sacramento): 8,998
3. 90210 (Beverly Hills): 7,239
4. 94025 (Menlo Park): 6,674

Also, see a list in the latest Domain Name Industry Brief of some of the oldest currently registered .com domain names. Some of them you will recognize like Xerox, HP, IBM, Sun, Intel, ATT, and GE.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Here is our cool new TV ad on Things We Check. The spot talks about the everyday things we all 'check' including the VeriSign check when we are online to stay safe.

Check it out:

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We attended RSA 2010 this week where VeriSign was a Platinum Sponsor. Executive Chairman, Jim Bidzos, gave a Keynote Address on the 'Internet and Trust' explaining that without trust, people are less likely to freely share information or transact online.

This is very true in the creation of Websites. Good design is critical for good user experience which is essential to building trust. A Website is our face to the world and its design creates that first impression which people judge it by. Also, every interaction a user has on a site impacts the trustworthiness they associate with that site. So, poor design and rampant content errors, for instance, take away from the credibility and trustworthiness of sites. However, a well-designed site which is functionally sound with a clear navigation system and good content goes a long way to building trust. Additionally, the presence of trust marks, data encryption, and other elements also help to lend credibility and trust to Websites.

VIDEO: Watch the keynote address!

PHOTOS: Highlights of the booth action:

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 3:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

With the launch of the VeriSign Trust^TM Seal last week, we introduced a new section to the Website dedicated to the Trust Seal. The Seal enables Websites to communicate that they are a trusted site to do business with and that does not compromise consumer safety.

The site pages utilize a balanced combination of multimedia video and rich graphics to visually communicate the content.

The Product Details page provides a tabset overview of the key information relating to the seal.

The Where to Put Your Seal page illustrates via screenshots specific recommendations on where to position the seal on your site.

And, in case you have questions as to which seal is right for you, there is an at-a-glance comparison table on the Compare VeriSign Seals page with key differentiators and inline explanations.

A persistent element across the pages which follows the content of each page is the "What would you like to do?" box. This provides users with easy and always-available access to options available to them.

So if you haven't already, check out the new VeriSign Trust^TM Seal and what it can do for your Website.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

This year marks the 25th anniversary of .com (dot com). In March 1985, the first .com domain name was registered, www.symbolics.com, igniting the birth of the consumer Internet that, 25 years later, continues to transform communications, commerce and our society as a whole.

And to commemorate this silver anniversary, a Website -- www.25yearsof.com -- has been launched to celebrate Internet innovation as well as to showcase the innovators and entrepreneurs who have shaped the Internet.

As part of this celebration, VeriSign will soon announce the top 75 people and companies who have made the most notable impact in shaping the Internet and ultimately, our world. From this list, a distinguished panel comprised of some of the Internet's most important influencers, will select the ".com 25." Winners of the .com 25 will be announced at a gala event later this spring in San Francisco.

Twitter: Keep up with our latest news at @25yearsofdotcom.

Facebook: Friend us at facebook.com/25yearsofdotcom.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here is an informative video review of one of VeriSign's SSL Certificates - Secure Site Pro with EV SSL. Conducted by Armando Roggio of the PeC Review, he explains what EV SSL is and why you need it.

He also rates the product a 4.5 out of 5!

"I really like VeriSign's Secure Site Pro with EV SSL. I believe it does a good job of actually securing customer data as it passes back and forth between the browser and server, and I think that it gives merchants an equally powerful tool for encouraging customers to buy. Bottom line, that security seal and green extension in the address bar make customers feel safe." - Armando Roggio, The PeC Review

My favorite part of the video is that he shows several pages on the site - navigating from the new VeriSign.com homepage to the SSL: How It Works page.

Watch video: VeriSign's Secure Site Pro with EV SSL

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy holidays to everyone!

Hope your New Year is a good one.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doing your holiday shopping? Here are some quick tips for staying safe online:

1) Make sure site is secure. Look for some kind of trust mark such as the VeriSign Check. Click on the check to ensure the check is authentic because a fake site can also fake the seal. A new window should open and make sure the organization listed is the business you're expecting and the site listed matches the URL of the site you are transacting with.

2) Look at the browser address bar before entering any personally identiable information. The URL should start with 'https' with the 's' meaning 'secure' versus 'http'.

3) Make sure the lock icon appears in the top (in Internet Explorer) or bottom (in Firefox) of the window of the browser and not on the page itself. Some fraudulent sites will mimic a browser bar at the bottom of the page with a lock image. You should be able to click on the lock to see site security information.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 3:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In the spirit of giving, the VeriSign Web team donated time yesterday at the Family Giving Tree.

Web team elves sorted gifts in the hope of making every child feel special and like a valuable part of their community.

Great work everyone! And thanks to Debbie for suggesting and organizing this.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tim Callan, VP of Marketing for the SSL business, recently wrote about the newly redesigned Thawte Website.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The new homepage design which we are testing out was on display at Analyst Day in New York City on Thursday. The day ended with the VeriSign Team ringing the NASDAQ closing bell.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We have been looking into getting a digital asset management system to house, manage, and retrieve our graphical, marketing, and other files. In researching this online, we found that there wasn't a lot helpful information out there. So, to save you some time, here are some things to look for when picking an asset management system:

• Hosted (SaaS) or in-house client-side application
• Ease of use and user-friendly interface - This one was key for us as we found many solutions with complex, multi-stepped, and poor UIs.
• Disk space - default capacity and scaling up options
• Subscription and setup fees
• Number of users and admins supported and upgrading options
• Ability to brand interface
• File upload & download options - single file, batch uploads, ftp
• Basic and advanced search capabilities
• Supported file formats
• Preview mode of static versus multimedia files - being able to view a streaming file snippet within the tool is a great feature
• Ability add metadata, keywords, captioning, etc.
• Auto-rendering multiple file sizes of a single file
• Report generation and alerts
• Localization support
• Lightbox/favorites
• Third-party access - e.g. for agencies you work with, you can send them a pick-up link for a file without the need to login to access the file.
• Access rights - security and password protection capabilities.
• Customer references

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We have rolled out our new homepage redesign today! Select users will see the new page initially; some may see different versions of the new homepage as we are conducting tests. The final redesign will be switched over in the coming month when it will be available to everyone.

The goals of the redesign include improving the usability and usefulness of the homepage. Our hope is that it helps you to be more successful and productive as a gateway to accomplishing your tasks.

What hasn't changed on our homepage:

• Positioning of the contact us and worldwide sites links, and search utility.


• Top level navigation menu functions in the same way with dropdown menus.


• We didn't really remove anything although we improved the content.

Here are the main changes you can expect to find:

• Interactive banner: An informational section to learn more about Internet-related issues which affect you and your business and how VeriSign can help.


• SSL Certificates box: Quick and easier access to select and manage certificates.


• Featured items: Carousel slide show highlighting products, events, and more.


• Quick navigation: Accordion panels allowing you to self-select based on your role (Information for), task (I need to), or simply jump links into popular/key sections (Quick links).


• News bar: News ticker to get the latest VeriSign news.

Test drive it for yourself and let us know what you think: www.verisign.com.

Stay tuned for future posts on the new homepage!

REDESIGNED HOMEPAGE:

CURRENT HOMEPAGE:

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Phishing. Online Fraud. Identity Theft. Online Safety & Security. Personally Identifiable Information. Virus Protection.

These are all the realities of navigating the Web today. For information on how to stay safe on the Web and ultimately, enjoy a good user experience in the online world, check out this latest VeriSign resource: Trust the Check.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The top left corner of the VeriSign homepage made an appearance on the news. Cool!

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Research indicates that the majority of users are unable to spot phishing Websites. In a study commissioned by VeriSign in the U.S., researchers asked users to identify fraudulent phishing sites from images of Websites placed side by side. A whopping 88 percent of users frequently missed the most obvious "tell tale" indicator which was the misspelling on the site which would have identified the phishing site.

How do you ensure that your online user experience is not affected by fraudulent sites? Here are VeriSign's top five tips to distinguish a real site from a phishing site:

1. https:// in the URL: The "s" in https:// means the site is encrypted,
so the information you enter is secured. While some phishing sites
do have a secured Web address, many do not. Therefore, site visitors
should be on the lookout for missing security on sites that should
have it.

2. The padlock icon: To be meaningful, this icon must appear in the
actual browser interface and not inside the content of the page itself.

3. Trust marks: Simple visual cues in the form of popular logos can show
that a Web site is authenticated and secured, and that a company is
reputable.

4. Check the Web address: Be suspicious of any site with an unknown domain
that contains the name of a well known site in the latter part of the
Web address.

5. Green address bar: Signifies that a site has undergone extensive
identity authentication so that you can be confident it is the site it
claims to be.

And, to test if you can tell tell the difference yourself, take the Phish or No Phish Challenge.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 3:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Startup Idol is an interesting Conference coming up on July 23, 2009 at the Sofitel Hotel. Registration is free of charge!

Startup Idol is focused on the Web startup community and will feature expert panel discussions, a startup competition, and a networking reception on the Bay. Anyone looking to stay on the cutting-edge of the Web field, explore new customer and partnership opportunities, and network, this is a can't miss opportunity.

- Connect with venture capitalists, investors, entrepreneurs, service providers, and talent.
- Network with others in the space, discover opportunities, gain exposure, make contacts, and find customers.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are now 183 million domain names registered across all Top Level Domains (TLDs) which represents a three percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2008 and a twelve percent increase over the same quarter last year. This means that nearly 11.8 million new domain names were registered across all TLDs in the first quarter of 2009. While this reflects a 17 percent growth in new registrations over the fourth quarter of 2008, it is a 17 percent decline from the same quarter in the previous year. While domain names registered do not necessarily mean the equivalent number of Websites created, the numbers point to approximately 91 domain names registered per minute and if about 88 percent resolve to Websites, that would mean that roughly 80 new sites were created a minute or one a second.

Country Code Top Level Domain Names (ccTLDs) registered increased to 74.1 million, an 18 percent increase year over year and a four percent increase quarter over quarter. There were nearly three million ccTLDs added in the first quarter of 2009, representing a 38 percent growth over the previous quarter, but a 39 percent decline from the same quarter of 2008.

In terms of total registrations, .com continues to have the highest base followed by .cn (China), .de (Germany) and .net. Following these are .org, .uk, .info, .nl (Netherlands), .eu (European Union), and .biz.

View the entire report (pdf).

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mother's Day is around the corner and millions of you will be sending flowers and gifts to your mothers and wives to the tune of $14.1 billion according to the National Retail Federation. As you scour the Web for sites to order flowers - at the last minute, of course - be sure you've hit the right sites and not potential phishing or spoofing sites. And what's one way to do that?

Look for the green address/URL bar as a visual cue that the site is protected by an Extended Validation SSL Certificate. The green bar signals that you've reached a site whose authenticity has been verified — and not a fraudulent, copycat Web page created by identity thieves to steal passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive personal data. You do need the latest versions of the leading Web browsers to see the green bar.

What You See In Internet Explorer:

What You See In Firefox:

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

VeriSign is at Information Security Conference, RSA® Conference 2009, this week in San Francisco. If you are attending the Expo, check us out at booth #1332. Jugglers, uni-cyclists, and guys in straight-jackets are on-hand to entertain. And, you get a chance to win encrypted thumb drives, iTunes and Starbucks certificates, and T-shirts.

We've decided go green with no paper collateral this year. So, in case you are looking for our RSA related content and collateral, here is where you can find that: VeriSign.com/VeriSignGoesGreen.

If you are interested in attending the exhibits, please email event_passes@verisign.com. Schedule: Wednesday, April 22nd, 11:00a.m. - 6:00p.m. and Thursday, April 23rd, 10:00a.m. - 4:00p.m.

Here are some pics:

More photos

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tax season is upon us and many of us are scrambling to meet the deadline for filing. And not surprisingly, more and more people are filing their taxes electronically. Approximately six out of every ten taxpayers filed online in 2008 and this number is expected to increase in 2009. There are many sites enabling taxpayers to file their taxes online for free. But how do you protect yourself from online fraud, scams, and phishing attacks?!

Here are some easy to follow tips:

1. Be skeptical of emails that feature Web links. Those links can be part
of a phishing scam that takes you to look-alike Web pages designed to
steal your sensitive personal information, from Social Security Numbers
to credit card account information. If you need to log-in, do so
independently and through the usual log-in Web page -- not by clicking
on a link.
2. When you go to file your taxes, make sure you've reached the correct
site. One easy way is to look for the green address bar that is used
today by leading tax filing sites. The green address bar, which is
recommended by the IRS, is displayed on sites protected by EV SSL
Certificates. Don't see the green address bar? Make sure you are using
the latest version of your Web browser.
3. Make sure you're entering your personal information in a secured
session by looking for https://
4. When you finish your taxes, be sure you've logged out of your session.
If you don't log out, fraudsters can potentially log-in to your session
after you leave the site.
5. Do not respond to any tax issues or requests using fax. A recent email
scam received by hundreds of taxpayers called for a fax with personal
information to be sent back to "the IRS." The IRS will never request
personal information via fax.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Social Security Awards Finalists have been announced! Two VeriSign bloggers are among the 25 finalists: Tim Callan who is nominated for "Best Corporate Blog" and Branden Williams who is up for "Most Entertaining" Security Blog.

Five finalists are listed in each category and there were nearly 500 nominees. We are proud to see Tim and Branden's dedication pay off as they are included amongst highly respected bloggers like Schneier on Security and the Security Now Podcast.

Congrats Tim and Branden! Just making it to the finals is a huge honor. Here's hoping you both take the prize at RSA!

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Domain Name News Blog decided to play an April Fools' Day joke on everyone, including us. Preying upon the paranoia induced by the Conficker C worm, these pranksters knew that the mention of it would catch people's attention.

We are honored that the notion of our servers being infiltrated is incredible enough to be the basis for an April Fool's Day prank. Good one!

Here's the gotcha from them:

Happy April 1st!

Sorry to say, but when you end up on this page it's very likely that you clicked on an external link from one of our April's fools posts for April 1st.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Imagine being able to use your iPhone to protect and authenticate your identity online. Well, now you can - cool! VeriSign today announced the launch of VIP Access for Mobile, a FREE downloadable app on the Apple App Store which generates a one-time password to access participating sites. In addition to your username and password, the iPhone application will generate a six-digit security code which dynamically changes every 30 seconds and which you input as your second factor of authentication when signing into your online accounts. Initially, a 'Credential ID' specific to your iPhone is generated and SMS text-messaged to that phone number for verification. This credential is only entered when you first register for the network's sites such as Paypal, eBay, AOL, or Geico.

Similar pilot tests are also being conducted on other mobile devices such as the Blackberry in the U.S. and India.

Here's a Demo:

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As part of the Security Bloggers Meet-Up at the RSA Conference, the Social Security Awards will recognize the best blogs in the security industry. Two VeriSign bloggers are in the running - Tim Callan's SSL Blog for 'Best Corporate Security Blog' and Branden Williams' Security Convergence Blog for 'Most Entertaining Security Blog'.

If you would like to vote for these blogs, submit your vote by March 31!

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has found himself a victim of Internet fraud. Having invented the Internet twenty years ago with the noble intent of linking documents together, the Web has evolved and also become a haven for fraud. Sir Tim, who purchased a Christmas present from a Website which never arrived, called the phone number on the site only to discover that the number was not valid. As he puts it "The worst thing that has happened to me was when I tried to buy a Christmas present from a company that looked like a bona fide company on the internet and then actually they were a completely fake company. I think I am yet to get the money back, but it wasn't a lot."

Clearly, no one is immune. As we surf the Web daily and transact on sites, we mostly take it for granted that the sites we are on are legitimate and trustworthy. We might look for trust marks like the Better Business Bureau Online, the VeriSign Secured Seal, and Truste as indicators of authenticity and security but we mostly assume positive intent. Unfortunately, this is when we can fall victim to cyber crime.

According to the Telegraph:

Sir Tim called on the authorities to put as much effort into fighting cyber crime as they do into conventional crime.

Sir Tim said he felt that online crime needed to be enforced as rigorously as crime in the real world, within international agreements to help prevent internet criminals escaping prosecution by hiding in countries outside the jurisdiction of the law where their victims live.

He said: "There have been many positive things about the web, but there are also some nasty things out there too. You can find out how to cure diseases, but you can also find out how to make bombs.

"Sometimes we need new laws, but in other cases we need to realise that old laws can still be applied to the web.

"We need to tackle issues of enforcement instead, as the laws on fraud, for example, already exist but is hard to find and catch the people responsible."

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The economy is hitting businesses hard all round and certainly no one is immune. However, there are some companies which are faring better than others even in the current harsh economic climate. Ranked as one of the ten IT vendors defying the gloom and doom is none other than VeriSign.

Even in tough economics times, internet security is still critical. In fact, some might argue it's even more so important given that crime rates have been known to increase in periods of economic downturn. Online identity theft and fraud are on the rise and undertaking precautionary measures to safeguard online identity is key. Whether it's outfitting a Website with an SSL certificate for encrypting transactions or a Secured Seal trust mark or a mechanism for verifying a site's authenticity, these security measures bolster trust and confidence. As a result, online businesses stand to benefit by way of possible increased revenues.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Twenty years ago this month in March 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web by following his dream of a better, easier way to communicate via computers on a global scale. And what an invention it was! The initial project, dubbed ENQUIRE referred to 'Enquire Within Upon Everything', a book Berners-Lee recalled from his childhood. Berners-Lee created a browser-editor with the goal of developing a tool to make the Web a creative space to share and edit information and build a common hypertext. Names considered for this browser included 'The Mine of Information' and 'The Information Mesh' and eventually decided on the WorldWideWeb in May 1990. The world's first web site went live in 1991. A copy of the original first webpage created by Berners-Lee can be found here.

In a recent interview with a co-author of Berners-Lee, it was said that to Tim "the whole point of the Web, to him, was not to just see information but to publish it, too. This didn't really happen until blogs emerged, followed by sites like Facebook , where people can easily post content. And, in answer to what the future holds for the Web, " It's hard to implement controls on the Web--because it was created in the ethos of the Internet--in that it's totally open. But for Tim, confronting issues like privacy and protection of intellectual property is not a matter of a technical fix. First, you need a social fix. If the Web is open to good people, it's open to bad people, too. The way you deal with security and other problems on the Web is the same way you deal with it in society: You need laws and social conventions that guide people's behavior. Once those are developed, then the technical ways to implement them can be created."

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 8:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As of the two-year anniversary of the launch of the VeriSign Extended Validation SSL Certificate, there are now more than 11,000 such certificates deployed on Websites around the world including the likes of PayPal, eBay, Travelocity and Schwab. The Extended Validation certificate lights up the Website address bar 'green' and displays the name of the site operator to verify the site authenticity to visitors. Only users with current versions of Web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, and Opera will see the green address bar if a site has this certificate. This helps to protect users from fraudulent sites which may arise as a result of phishing, spoofing, and other scams. The Extended Validation certificate is a step-up from the standard SSL Certificate.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Internet continues to grow! There were 24 million new domain names registered in 2008 and 10.1 million new names in the fourth quarter of '08 across the all top level domains (TLDs). This brings the total number of domain name registrations across all TLDs to 177 million for 2008 - a 16 percent increase over the previous year and a 2 percent increase over the third quarter of '08. The five largest TLDs in terms of base size were .com, .cn (China), .de (Germany), .net, and .org.

The number of .com and .net domain names continues to climb as well. The overall base of .com and .net domain names grew to 90.4 million in 2008 - a 12 percent increase from 2007 and a 1 percent increase from the third quarter. Country Code Top Level Domain Names (ccTLDs) reached 71.1 million domain names - a 22 percent increase YOY and a 3 percent increase from the third quarter of 2008.

New domain name registrations across all TLDs have been growing at a decreasing rate compared to 2007 due to slower growth in both gTLDs and ccTLDs.

Domain Name Industry Brief (pdf).

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If you haven't seen this before, this is a funny video. It's from an '08 VeriSign campaign featuring a self-proclaimed 'Cart Whisperer' who goes out rescuing abandoned shopping carts and then setting them free. The underlying message is that online shoppers fill up their shopping carts and abandon them before hitting the 'Buy' button because they don't feel the site they are buying from is secure...maybe because they don't see a trust mark like the VeriSign Secured Seal or evidence of SSL encryption :). Enjoy!

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In a recent survey of 919 U.S. adults, 18 years and older who spend at least three non-work hours a week online, 85 percent of consumers state that trusting a site is most important to them when interacting with a Website and sharing confidential information. In contrast, nine percent deemed competitive pricing as most important and another five percent thought ease of use was most important. Additionally, a whopping 93 percent of respondents said they would stop transacting on a site that was not secure.

The survey findings also concluded that 76 percent of consumers claimed that identity theft is a "major" concern for them. When asked how they felt about brands that did not protect their online identity, 56 percent felt "distrustful," 17 percent felt "disappointed," 13 percent felt "betrayed," six percent felt "indifferent," and four percent felt "let down." Finally, one in five engage in fewer online activities due to security concerns.

And how do consumers protect their online identities? According to the survey:
- 86 percent use a simple user name and password to enter accounts
- 62 percent look for the lock icon in the address bar
- 55 percent look for a logo or seal from the firm providing Internet security
- 52 percent look for https:// in the address bar
- 26 percent look for a green address bar

The findings suggest that Website credibility is key to consumers and they are willing to pay a little extra online for the peace of mind of knowing that their identities are protected. The survey was conducted by Synovate and commissioned by VeriSign.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Welcome to the VeriSign User Experience Blog. This is the first-ever such blog for us and I am very excited to get it started. Through my posts, I look forward to sharing what we are doing and engaging with and hearing from you on how we are doing in our quest to better serve and meet your needs via our Websites. After all, we are building our sites for you, not us. I will also share insights, ramblings, musings, and the like on user experience that may be of interest.

If you have any feedback on the types of content you would like to see covered on this blog, I would love to hear from you. I look forward to meeting you all online. Thank you.

Posted by Reshma Kumar at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)