"This article provides a simple model to follow when implementing transport layer protection for an application. Although the concept of SSL is known to many, the actual details and security specific decisions of implementation are often poorly understood and frequently result in insecure deployments. This article establishes clear rules which provide guidance on securely designing and configuring transport layer security for an application. This article is focused on the use of SSL/TLS between a web application and a web browser, but that we also encourage the use of SSL/TLS or other network encryption technologies, such as VPN, on back end and other non-browser based connections."

Link: http://www.owasp.org/index.php/Transport_Layer_Protection_Cheat_Sheet