SSL Certificates
Find the right type of certificate for you.
There are many different types of SSL certificates (or TLS certificates) out there – and we assume you don’t have all day to try and figure out which one is BEST for your domain(s) and situation. Luckily, we’ve broken down & organised each type of potential certificate solution right here for you, so you can quickly find exactly what you need as soon as possible.
Domain Validation (DV)
These encryption-only certificates are popular because of how fast and simple they are to get. All you have to do is prove you own the domain you wish to secure in order to get a DV certificate issued. This process usually takes just a few minutes to complete. You’ll get industry standard encryption and trust indicators like HTTPS and the padlock icon. Internal testing domains, blogs, and basic template sites are good candidates for DV certificates, since they offer full encryption but just basic trust indicators.
Organisation Validated (OV)
OV certificates are the “better” in the “good, better, best” model for SSL/TLS certificates. These certificates validate that a domain belongs to a registered business before being issued, and this process typically takes between 1-3 days to complete. The added benefit of a OV certificate is a dynamic site seal, which when clicked on, displays validated company information to a visitor, along with HTTPS and the padlock icon. These certs also offer 128- to 256-bit encryption and are perfect for registered businesses who can’t quite find room in their budgets for EV yet.
Extended Validation (EV)
Extended Validation (EV) certificates are the most premium SSL solutions available. These are the only SSL certificates that can truly be viewed at as an investment, given their ROI potential. The main feature of EV certificates is the green address bar, the most universally trusted symbol across the web. Websites equipped with the green address bar – like Apple, PayPal, and Twitter – are instantly recognized as legitimate websites that can be trusted with personal information. The validation process typically takes a little more time with these certificates, around 1-5 business days, but if you have a registered business, we’ll help make sure you can get one!
Wildcard (WC)
Wildcard SSL certificates cover one domain name and an unlimited amount of sub-domains. For example, a Wildcard SSL certificate can cover www.domain.com, email.domain.com, login.domain.com, xyz.domain.com, etc. These certificates are extremely popular, affordable, and convenient solutions – since most domains have subdomains. Also, they are available in both DV and OV types, with no EV Wildcard SSL certificate currently available. Wildcard SSL certificates offer full 128- to 256-bit encryption on all of the domains and subdomains that they cover.
Multi-Domain (MD)
These certificates do just as their name suggests – cover multiple domains with just a single solution. One Multi-Domain SSL certificate can cover up to 250 total domains, depending on the brand of certificate. Multi-Domain certificates are an extremely convenient option for businesses that own a lot of different TLD extensions and want to cover them all with full 128- to 256-bit encryption without having to purchase and install separate SSL for each one. Since these certificates are available in EV, OV, and DV options, you’re sure to find a Multi-Domain certificate that suits your needs.
Multi-domain Wildcard Certificates
There’s nothing a Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL certificate can’t secure. For any company or organization with a complicated public-facing web infrastructure, a Multi-Domain Wildcard is the perfect security solution. Depending on CA, you can secure up to 25, 100 or 250 different domains or IPs and all accompanying sub-domains. Nothing saves you more time, money and effort than securing your entire web presence with a single SSL certificate.
Code Signing (CS)
Code Signing certificates aren’t traditional SSL/TLS certificates, but they play an important and expanding role in online security and integrity. These are certificate-based digital signature algorithms that verify a piece of code hasn’t been tampered with since it was signed by the author. We like to think of it as a “digital shrink wrap” that validates code is being authentic and in its original form. It is the web’s tamper-proof system for software downloading. Code signing certificates are used and recognized by all major operating systems like Apple OS X, Linux, and Windows.
Email & Document Signing
These increasingly popular certificates can validate the identity of both the email sender and the recipient. Email signing certificates are especially important within organizations, to ensure that the proper secure communication practices are being followed. We have email signing solutions available from Comodo and Certum, two of the most reputable online security companies in the world.