enable SSL for Admin - advantage?

what is the advantage of enabling SSL for admin?

cheers, Mike

The purpose of using SSL is to encrypt communication between the browser and the server so that nobody can snoop on the data being transferred across the internet.

So, enabling SSL for your Entire Admin means everything you do in your admin will be visible to you and only you ... including your login password as well as any viewing of customer information, changing settings, setting payment-gateway ID settings, setting shipping-service userIDs and so on.

Plus, if you are using a payment service which collects credit cards on your site, your Admin won't let you enable or use that module if your admin isn't fully protected by SSL.

DrByte:

Plus, if you are using a payment service which collects credit cards on your site, your Admin won't let you enable or use that module if your admin isn't fully protected by SSL.
Thanks Doc for the response, I assumed as much but it is the last one that had me wondering - I have been using PayPalPro with no issues with credit cards, I suppose you are talking about other payment gateways?

cheers, Mike
p.s. Why is it that enabling SSL isn't just enable SSL period rather than selecting catalogue and/or admin?

shags38:

I have been using PayPalPro with no issues with credit cards, I suppose you are talking about other payment gateways?No, PayPal is included ... but you're using an outdated version of Zen Cart which didn't enforce that.

shags38:

Why is it that enabling SSL isn't just enable SSL period rather than selecting catalogue and/or admin?
... because you have 2 configure.php files: one for the admin and one for the catalog. (We're working on simplifying those files for v1.6)