An SSL certificate is a file installed on a secure web server that identifies a website. SSL certificate is mainly used is tokeep sensitive information sent across the Internet encrypted so that only the intended recipient can understand it.
An SSL Certificate is used for the following functions.
1. Authentication and Verification: The SSL Certificate holds the information about the authenticity of certain details regarding the identity of a person, business or website, which it will display to visitors on your web site when they click on the browser’s padlock symbol.
2. Data Encryption: The SSL Certificate enables encryption, which means that the sensitive information transmitted through the website/Internet cannot be intercepted and read by anyone other than the intended recipient. An SSL Certificate is most reliable when issued by a trusted certificate Authority (CA).
Types of SSL Certificates
1. Self-signed certificate: The first type of SSL Certificate is a self-signed certificate. As the name shows, this is a certificate that is generated for internal purposes and is not issued by a CA. Since the website owner generates their own certificate, it does not hold the same weight as a fully authenticated and verified SSL Certificate issued by a CA.
2. Domain Validated Certificate: A Domain Validated Certificate is considered an entry level SSL Certificate and can be issued quickly. The only verification check performed is to ensure that the applicant owns the domain (web site address) where they plan to use the certificate. No additional checks are done to ensure that the owner of the domain is a valid business entity.
3. Fully authenticated SSL Certificate: A fully authenticated SSL Certificate is the first step to true online security and confidence building. Taking slightly longer to issue, these certificates are only granted once the organization passes a number of validation procedures and checks to confirm the existence of the business, the ownership of the domain, and the users authority to apply for the certificate.
4. SGC-enabled SSL Certificate: Even though an SSL Certificate is capable of supporting 128-bit or 256-bit encryption, certain older browsers and operating systems still cannot connect at this level of security. SSL Certificates with a technology called Server-Gated Cryptography (SGC) enable 128- or 256-bit encryption to over 99.9% of web site visitors. Without an SGC certificate on the web server, browsers and operating systems that do not support 128-bit strong encryption will receive only 40- or 56-bit encryption. Users with certain older browsers and operating systems will temporarily stepup to 128-bit SSL encryption if they visit a web site with an SGC-enabled SSL Certificate.
5. Wildcard Certificate: A domain name is often used with a number of different host suffixes. For this reason, you may employ a Wildcard Certificate that allows you to provide full SSL security to any host of your domainfor example: host.your_domain. com (where host varies but the domain name stays constant).
6. SAN SSL Certificate: Similar to a Wildcard Certificate, but a little more versatile, the SAN (Subject Alternative Name) SSL Certificate allows for more than one domain to be added to a single SSL Certificate.
7. Code Signing Certificate: A Code Signing Certificates are specifically designed to ensure that the software you have downloaded was not tampered with while en route. There are many cyber criminals who tamper with software available on the Internet. They may attach a virus or other malicious software to an innocent package as it is being downloaded. These certificates make sure that this doesnt happen.
8. Extended Validation (EV) SSL: Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates offer the highest industry standard for authentication and provide the best level of customer trust available. When consumers visit a web site secured with an EV SSL Certificate, the address bar turns green (in high-security browsers) and a special field appears with the name of the legitimate web site owner along with the name of the security provider that issued the EV SSL Certificate. It also displays the name of the certificate holder and issuing CA in the address bar. This visual reassurance has helped increase consumer confidence in e-commerce.
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