Which ssl certificate

Wildcard SSL. EV SSL. What is SSL? What is TLS? Who needs an SSL Certificate? How does the warranty work? How does the free trial SSL certificate work? How long does it take to get my SSL certificate? Why choose SSL. Our Customers. Blog Feed. Jerry Bangcawayan October 27, Jerry Bangcawayan October 8, First things first, you need to register your domain before you can obtain a publicly trusted SSL Certificate meaning the kind you need for public websites, more on this below.

This is because Certificate Authorities CAs , the organizations that issue certificates, need to verify domain ownership. An internal name is a domain or IP address that is part of a private network, for example:.

In short, this is because these names are not unique and are used internally, so there is no way for a CA to verify that the company owns it e. For more explanation on the dangers of internal names in public SSL Certificates , check out our white paper. So what can you do if you want to secure communications between your internal servers that use internal server names? Microsoft CA and issue certificates from there. While these are certainly viable options, running your own CA requires extensive internal expertise and can be quite resource-intensive.

Some CAs cough GlobalSign cough also offer certificates designed exactly for this use case. This way you can secure your internal servers without the hassle of running your own CA or doing self-signed certificates.

They tend to be used for blogs or informational websites — i. This SSL certificate type is one of the least expensive and quickest to obtain. The validation process only requires website owners to prove domain ownership by responding to an email or phone call.

Wildcard SSL certificates allow you to secure a base domain and unlimited sub-domains on a single certificate. If you have multiple sub-domains to secure, then a Wildcard SSL certificate purchase is much less expensive than buying individual SSL certificates for each of them. Multi-Domain certificates do not support sub-domains by default. If you need to secure both www. Today, any website owner can use these certificates to allow multiple domain names to be secured on a single certificate.

UCC Certificates are organizationally validated and display a padlock on a browser. It is essential to be familiar with the different types of SSL certificates to obtain the right type of certificate for your website.

Certificate Authorities — sometimes also referred to as Certification Authorities — issue millions of SSL certificates each year. They play a critical role in how the internet operates and how transparent, trusted interactions can occur online. The cost of an SSL certificate can range from free to hundreds of dollars, depending on the level of security you require. Once you decide on the type of certificate you require, you can then look for Certificate Issuers, which offer SSLs at the level you require.

Once obtained, you need to configure the certificate on your web host or on your own servers if you host the website yourself. How quickly you receive your certificate depends on what type of certificate you get and which certificate provider you procure it from. Each level of validation takes a different length of time to complete. A simple Domain Validation SSL certificate can be issued within minutes of being ordered, whereas Extended Validation can take as long as a full week.

It is possible to use one SSL certificate for multiple domains on the same server. Depending on the vendor, you can also use one SSL certificate on multiple servers. The number is left up to the specific issuing Certificate Authority. Every multi-domain certificate has additional fields i.

SSL certificates do expire; they don't last forever. This essentially means two years plus you can carry over up to three months if you renew with time remaining on your previous SSL certificate.

SSL certificates expire because, as with any form of authentication, information needs to be periodically re-validated to check it is still accurate. Things change on the internet, as companies and also websites are bought and sold. As they change hands, the information relevant to SSL certificates also changes.

The purpose of the expiry period is to ensure that the information used to authenticate servers and organizations is as up-to-date and accurate as possible. Previously, SSL certificates could be issued for as long as five years, which was subsequently reduced to three and most recently to two years plus a potential extra three months.

This took effect from September It is possible that in the future, the length of validity will reduce still further. Microsoft and the Window logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U. The Android robot is reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.

Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. How To. Why do you need an SSL certificate? An SSL certificate helps secure information such as: Login credentials Credit card transactions or bank account information Personally identifiable information — such as full name, address, date of birth, or telephone number Proprietary information Legal documents and contracts Medical records What are the different types of SSL certificates?

Domain validated DV. DV certificates only verify who owns the site. No information about the company is required. Be aware that DV certificates have the lowest level of trust and are commonly used by cybercriminals 3 because they are easy to obtain and can make a website appear more secure than it is. Organizationally validated OV. This process typically takes a couple of days. OV certificates have a moderate level of trust and are a good option for public-facing websites that deal with less sensitive transactions.

This type of certificate is a must-have for websites that handle sensitive information.