In a short article from Builder.com this morning, they talk about the benefits of, and how to install secure socket layers on your Apache instance.

A decade ago, most people were scared to death of the prospect. Today, we don't think twice. The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is largely responsible for our feelings of security, and it can be the tool that moves your company's Web site into that secure land of online transactions where you can do business on the Web without fear.

The SSL technology works because it encrypts your data between the client and the server, reducing the chances that anyone could intercept the data in between. They assume that you're installing it on a unix-based machine, and show you where and how to compile it into your installation.