Comodo HackerProof certifies that eCommerce sites have been tested and are free of security gaps
(19/12/2007)

According to a study conducted by Harris Polls in May of 2006, consumers do not have a high level of trust in eCommerce sites. In the study, Harris measured "levels of trust" and found that only 5% of consumers have "a great deal" of trust in eTailers and over 50% of consumers do not trust eTailers at all or trust them very little.

To address this growing trust gap, Comodo has announced the launch of Comodo HackerProof, a new eMerchant service that drives visitor conversion by certifying that the site has been tested and meets Comodo's security standards. Sites passing Comodo’s vulnerability scans and are certified to be free of security gaps can display the HackerProof trust mark.

The HackerProof trust mark has been shown to be highly valued by eMerchants as an endorsement of the site's credibility because over 100 million people associate the Comodo brand with security. As proof of the Comodo brand’s ability to drive conversion, Comodo offers this advanced service for free until the eMerchant sees at least a 5% increase in site conversion rates thus providing a compelling ROI (return on investment) and business case for this implementation of this solution.

The business goal of all eMerchants is to increase online conversion of site traffic with brand credibility recognized as one of the most important factors driving this dynamic. According to the Association for Consumer Research, brand credibility, "...requires that consumers perceive that the brand have the ability (i.e., expertise) and willingness (i.e., trustworthiness) to continuously deliver what has been promised ..." It can be a challenge for eMerchants to communicate this level of brand credibility to site visitors.

Comodo HackerProof service was specifically designed to give eMerchants the tools to ease consumer's fears and establish a high level of brand credibility through a technologically advanced trust mark that provides:
* a simplified mechanism for a site visitor to obtain site business credentials
* proof of a site's security against hackers
* powerful "endorsement" of the site's credibility through association with Comodo - a highly recognized trust brand

Comodo delivers brand credibility to a site because site credentials are visible and verifiable throughout the customer's interaction with exclusive, patent-pending technologies including:
* Exclusive "fixed position" technology allows the trust mark to be a constant presence on the site to act as a reminder to the site visitor that the site is safe to transact on. This capability is unlike any other site seal that "disappears" once the site visitor scrolls down on the page.
* Access to full trust credentials in one easy roll over action without requiring the site visitor to get diverted to another site to verify credential information. This provides on site reassurance to the visitor that helps drive trust and ultimately conversion.
* Patent-pending "Tamper proof" verification capabilities that site visitors can use to verify the authenticity of the trust mark. Using the free plugin (VerificationEngine), site visitors can immediately distinguish authentic trust marks from ones that have been pasted and put on a site fraudulently. As a result, site visitors can trust that the HackerProof trust mark is authentic further increasing visitors' trust in the site.

"The Increase in online security threats continues to strain the Internet's growth as consumers become more cautious in their online behavior. With the introduction of the HackerProof service, eMerchants have a powerful new tool to combat these growing concerns." said Melih Abdulhayoglu, CEO and Chief Security Architect of Comodo. "Comodo developed this advanced trust mark technology to provide a better user experience with an interaction that allows consumers a simple and reliable way to verify a company's trust credentials. This in turn will increase a site's online conversion rates - the most important business driver in the market today."

Comodo provides a risk free way for eMerchants to "test drive" this technology. Comodo HackerProof comes free of charge until A/B testing results prove that pages served with the HackerProof trust mark realize an increase in conversion rates of at least 5% over pages served without the HackerProof trust mark. In this A/B testing mode, eMerchants can easily assess the incremental value of the HackerProof trust mark.