Security

If our clients request it, we can protect the connection with each respondent, using the same level of security that is used for online banking. We do this by providing a 128 bit Secure Socket Layer, commonly referred to as "SSL".

If you are using "SSL", the connection between your browser and this Web site is secure.

  • All the information sent between your browser and the goVote Web site remains private, even if it is intercepted by someone else.
  • Everything you send to goVote gets to goVote

For more information on digital certificates click here

The goVote server automatically activates a '128 bit Secure Socket Layer' (SSL), creating a secure communications channel between us and your browser. SSL enables the goVote Web site to communicate securely with anyone who uses Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and other popular browsers.

SSL provides you with the following benefits:

  • Message privacy - SSL encrypts all information exchanged between the goVote Web server and your browser, such as personal data, using a unique session key. To securely transmit the session key to you, our server encrypts it with our public key. Each session key is used only once, during a single session (which may include one or more transactions) with a single respondent. These layers of privacy protection ensure that information cannot be viewed if it is intercepted by unauthorized parties.
  • Message integrity - When a message is sent, the sending and receiving computers each generate a code based on the message content. If even a single character in the message content is altered en route, the receiving computer will generate a different code, and then alert the recipient that the message is not legitimate. With message integrity, both parties involved in the transaction know that what they're seeing is exactly what the other party sent.

All exchanges of Server IDs occur within seconds. They are completely automatic, and require no action by you.

How can you be sure that your connection is secure?

You can confirm that your transactions with the goVote Web site are secured by looking for the following cues:

  • The URL in the browser window displays "https" at the beginning, instead of http.
     
  • In Firefox, the padlock icon in the lower left corner of the Navigator window will be closed instead of open. Netscape users can also follow these steps to see what level of encryption is protecting their transactions with your site:
    • Go to the Web site you want to check.
    • Click the Security button in the Navigator's toolbar. The Security Info dialog box indicates whether the Web site uses encryption.
    • If it does, click the Open Page Info button to display more information about the site's security features, including the type of encryption used.
  • In Internet Explorer, a padlock icon appears in the bar at the bottom of the IE window. IE users can find out a Web site's encryption level by following these steps:
    • Go to the Web site you want to check.
    • Right-click on the Web site's page and select Properties.
    • Click the Certificates button.
    • In the Fields box, select "Encryption type." The Details box shows you the level of encryption (40-bit or 128-bit).