Sometimes, serendipity happens.
Here at Website Security Solutions, we're constantly striving to educate people on how important SSL Certificates are to the Internet. The Norton Secured Seal represents trust on the internet; a sure mark that the website where it is displayed represents a site that can be trusted to conduct business transactions. We try to educate consumers about how to shop safely, and conduct their business online with a minimum of risk; because it's a world full of internet predators out there trying to steal people's money, their data, and their very identity.
Consumer education is one of the most important things we can do in the Security industry. We have to teach people what to look for, how to surf safely, and how to protect themselves. And all the focus group results we show will always appear just a little biased to people who don't understand surveys and data, because they'll always believe that since Symantec paid for them to be done, the results skewed our way. So when an independent organization working with a third party survey gets results that favor us, then post it to the internet, all we can do is dance for joy. And I'm dancing today, because Google and the Baymard Institute have done just that: http://baymard.com/blog/site-seal-trust.
Now this doesn't mean our work is done. According to this survey, almost half of the people didn't know enough to make a decision about which mark was the most trustworthy, and that means that our job to get customers educated is incomplete. More people should know what it means to see a trust mark on a website, and know what they're looking at when they click on it. More people should know that the green bar or tab in their browser means they're on a site that's been through some intensive validation as an organization, and that they are who they say they are. And we're going to keep working on that.
With that said, having an external site point out that the Norton Secured Seal *is* the most recognized trust mark on the internet for e-commerce is a big deal. And I hope it's reassuring to all the businesses that choose to buy from Symantec. It means that at least half of their customers understand and appreciate the security of choosing HTTPS, and that they chose Symantec: The first commercial Certificate Authority, and the most recognized name in website safety.