What Type Of SSL Certificate Do I Need? – Before We Get Into The Topic, let’s Learn Some Basic Of This Topic
6 Types of SSL Certificates to Secure Your Website
Building client trust and gaining customer confidence in your business, and by extension, your website should be a top priority for you. Turning on SSL encryption on your website, which ensures safe connections and protects your users’ personal information, is the best approach to accomplish this. But what exactly is SSL, and how do you utilize one?
What is SSL, and how does it work?
SSL stands for “secure sockets layer,” and it is a cryptographic technology that encrypts data sent between two machines. Without SSL, anyone may simply watch and steal all of your personal information sent to a server in plain text, including passwords and credit card details. As a result, all websites should now have a digital certificate for SSL encryption.
What is the difference between an SSL Certificate and a regular certificate?
When users are required to submit sensitive information, such as filling out forms or login into their accounts, SSL certificates attach a specific cryptographic key to your organization’s details (e.g. a domain name) to secure your website.
When an SSL certificate is installed on your server, your URL will change from HTTP to HTTPS and all web browsers will display a grey padlock next to it, allowing your visitors to understand the visual cues that your website is secure. In this way, having a certificate displayed in the URL bar on your website is equivalent to having a registered trademark.
Furthermore, search engines such as Google now reward website owners for installing SSL certificates by improving their ranks.
Do you require assistance in safeguarding your entire infrastructure? SMBs can get a copy of your Security Infrastructure Checklist.
What Are SSL Certificates and How Do They Work?
SSL certificates are data files that use public-key cryptography to certify the secure connection between your website and the web server.
Your server has access to your private key, which may be used to encrypt any communication sent to your website. However, only the public key contained in your certificate can decrypt this communication.
A reputable Certificate Authority creates and issues SSL certificates (CA). There are several types of certificates, each with different levels of validation.
The following are the six different types of SSL Certificates to think about:
- Certificates with an Extended Validation Period (EV SSL)
- Certificates that have been verified by an organization (OV SSL)
- Certificates with Domain Validation (DV SSL)
- SSL Certificate with Wildcards
- SSL Certificate for Multiple Domains (MDC)
- Certificate for Unified Communications (UCC)
You might be wondering, “What form of SSL certificate do I require?” Before we choose one, let’s go through the key distinctions between them.
Certificates with an Extended Validation Period (EV SSL)
Extended Validation Certificates are the highest-ranking and most expensive SSL certificate types.
Setting up an EV certificate necessitates the website owner completing a defined identity verification process to ensure they own the domain alone.
1.Use Cases for Extended Validation SSL Certificates
Because EV certificates are costly and involve a lengthy verification process, they are mostly utilized by high-profile companies that require a lot of personal information from users or collect online payments frequently (e.g. banks or medical providers).
.Extended Validation Certificates (EV SSL) are a type of SSL certificate that is used by Liquidweb.
2. Certificates that have been validated by an organization (OV SSL)
The major aim of the Organization Validation SSL certificate is to encrypt sensitive information during transactions. The OV certificate, like the EV certificate, has a high assurance level and is used to verify business trustworthiness.
The OV SSL certificates are the second most expensive. To get them, website owners must go through a lengthy validation procedure overseen by a Certification Authority, which investigates the website owner to see if they hold the domain name in question.
OV SSL Certificates: Use Cases
Commercial and public-facing websites that collect and retain client information frequently require OV certifications (e.g. web apps).
OV SSL Certificates Amazon.com’s SSL Certificate Viewer
3. Certificates with Domain Validation (DV SSL)
Domain Validation SSL certificates provide low certainty and little encryption when compared to other SSLs. As a result, the validation process for obtaining this certificate type is rather simple. The approach just requires website owners to react to an email or phone contact to prove domain ownership.
DV SSL Certificates: Use Cases
Because DV certificates are one of the cheapest and quickest to obtain, they are frequently utilized by blogs and informational websites that do not require a further guarantee for their users.
SSL Certificates – Example of a DV SSL Certificate from nytimes.com
4. SSL Certificates with Wildcards
Wildcard SSL certificates come in two flavors: OV and DV, and they can secure a single domain as well as an unlimited number of subdomains. The main advantage of getting a wildcard certificate is that it is less expensive than purchasing many single-domain certificates.
The usual name of wildcard SSL certificates includes an asterisk. Any valid subdomain with the same base domain is represented by an asterisk. For instance, the common name may be *.example.com, allowing this certificate to be used for both blog.example.com and account.example.com.
Customers who require encryption for many subdomains can acquire either OV or DV Wildcard certificates, depending on their business needs. For example, blogging systems that create several subdomains for their user accounts would find this useful.
SSL Certificates – Ancestry.com’s Wildcard SSL Certificate
5. SSL Certificates with Multiple Domains
With a single certificate, Multi-Domain SSL certificates may secure up to 100 different domain names and subdomains, saving time and money. Businesses can add, update, or delete any of the SANs in the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) field as needed.
Multiple domains can be secured with Domain Validated, Organization Validated, Extended Validated, and Wildcard certificates. Here are some examples of domain names that can benefit from a single Multi-Domain certificate:
6.Multi-Domain SSL Certificates: Use Cases
Multi-Domain SSL certificates are frequently used by firms with offices in multiple jurisdictions, as well as international conglomerates with multiple top-level domain names to secure.
- SSL Certificates – digicert.com Multi-Domain SSL Certificate
- Certificates for Unified Communications (UCC)
Multi-Domain SSL Certificates (UCC) are also known as Unified Communications Certificates (UCC) and offer the same benefits. EV SSL certificates can be created using UCCs.
Certificates for Unified Communications: Use Cases
UCCs were created to protect Microsoft Exchange and Live Communications servers at first. Today, however, any website owner can utilize a single certificate to encrypt many domains.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, having the correct SSL certificate in place to secure your website is critical for retaining visitor and client trust. After all, in the digital world, nothing is more vital than keeping personal information safe and secure.