What is an SSL Certificate? SSL/TLS certs explained.
SSL, which stands for Secure Sockets Layer, is a security protocol that was developed to protect data transmitted over the internet. It was the first widely used protocol to secure online communication and transactions.
In 1999, an updated version of SSL called TLS (Transport Layer Security) was introduced. TLS is similar to SSL but offers improved security features and performance compared to the older SSL versions. Despite the introduction of TLS, the term "SSL" is still commonly used to refer to both SSL and TLS protocols.
An SSL certificate is a digital document that contains important information about a website and its owner. When you visit a website with an SSL certificate, you'll see a padlock icon in your browser's address bar, indicating that the connection is secure.
SSL certs explained:
The SSL certificate serves two main purposes:
- It verifies the identity of the website owner, assuring visitors that they are communicating with the intended website and not an imposter.
- It enables encryption of data exchanged between the website and its visitors, protecting sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, and personal details from being intercepted by hackers.
A typical SSL certificate includes the following information:
- The full name of the website owner
- A unique serial number and expiration date
- The website's public key (used for encrypting data)
- A digital signature from the issuing Certificate Authority (CA)
Certificate Authorities (CAs) are trusted organizations responsible for issuing SSL certificates. They verify the identity of the website owner and sign the certificate to confirm its authenticity. Some well-known CAs include:
- Symantec/Verisign: One of the oldest and most trusted CAs.
- Thawte: Another long-standing CA that originated in South Africa.
- GeoTrust: Known for offering cost-effective SSL solutions.
- RapidSSL: Recognized for its fast issuance process.
- Comodo (now Sectigo): Provides affordable, high-quality SSL certificates.
When you see an SSL certificate on a website, you can be confident that the site has been verified by a trusted third party and that your data will be encrypted during transmission, protecting it from unauthorized access.
Being a secure method, an SSL guaranties an additional secured net transfer. Its objective is to code the bridge between the user and therefore the server. The outcome data from the client’s device cannot be taken or intercepted by a stranger. SSL or TLS encrypts the data and its relation to the website, employing a few ways and keys of encoding.
If you have a profitable business and you want to supply data or merchandise net, then you ought to work with sensitive users data. In this case, it is indispensable to utilize an SSL. In this way, your existing and potential shoppers will have more confidence in accessing your web site. This can produce a more assured and secure contact between you and your shoppers, and will make them more assured when doing business with you, and your enterprise will be more profitable. We are here to offer the best SSL certificate at only $4,99/year!
Working principles of SSL Certificates
Users, laptops, web programs anddevices can use electronic certificates. Extended Validation or Business Validation SSL certificates shows to your customers your identification info. Compared to a non-digital certificate, it contains information concerning the organization the SSL certificate is issued by, what device or web-site the SSL certificate is issued to, date of issuance, and its expiration date. The public key and the electronic signature are the two extra data that are not contained in a physical non-digital certificate. These important keys are used to code the clients data. The electronic signature of an electronic certificate proves that it comes from a confident source.
The SSL certificate is issued and processed by the Web Services Company, named Certificate Authority. This Authority makes researches, verifies recommendations of your company, and assures your identity. Also, one of the SSL Certificate’s most essential roles is to code the information coming in and out of your web site.
First part of and SSL Certificate is encryption, or encoding, where the SSL hides the flow of incoming and out coming information between the computers during data exchange.
The other part of SSL is the identification, when the SSL assures you that the website you are accessing from a PC is genuine.
There could be a whole list of steps behind the little green little icon.
How to acquire an SSL Certificate?
The most important thing is to get a SSL certificate from a sure Certificate Authority. The Certificate Authority checks the company, required data, and then signs it.
There are a many differing kinds of certificates, betting on levels of verification. First, the domain level verification, when the CA verifies that you own the domain name. Second, the extended verification consists of verifying if a company is who it pretends to be.
After the verification, the company gets the SSL certificate and installs it on its server. Web browsers trust only the SSL Certificates that are signed properly by the Certificate Center (CA).
We recommend to use a cloud, virtual or dedicated server, or if use are using a shared hosting your should have at least to your own separate IP per each domain that uses SSL/TLS method. Once a customer connects to your web-site using HTTPS, it is preferred to use separate IP Address, owing to the fact that older browsers does not support SNI feature of the new TLS protocol.
Time of checkup
The time of your SSL certificate issuance (delivery) depends on what form of certificate you are going to apply for.
- Domain Validation
Usually it takes about 5 minutes for CA to verify if the entity who requested the Certificate owns the domain names. This is done by email via the Basic Domain verification procedure. - Business Validation
The checking procedure will last from 3 to 5 days for the business validation. The Certificate Center will check the domain owner and its business. This is called the Basic Business Document Verification. - Extended Validation Greenbar
The Extended Validation for Green Bar address bar SSL takes from 5 to 7 days. This is called Extended Business Verification.
How it works?
Every Web browser have an embedded list of trusted Certificate Authorities.
It will check if the SSL is signed by one of the Authorities embedded, if it's a self-signed, internet browser will return an error.
An SSL helps your site rank grow higher!
Internet Security has become a priority for the whole world. The Secure Socket Layer not only contributes to the protection of your website visitors and customers, but it also offers high-quality signals to the search engines. The presence of a SSL Certificate on a website tells the search engines that your website is trustworthy, and the search engines will rank your website higher!
The SSL Certificate can help you to get a much better rating and to raise your ranking in search engines. If you want to higher rank, then we strongly recommend you to use a SSL Certificate on your web site. This tells the Internet users and the search engines that you care about the quality of your website’s content, and you are concerned about the security of your customers.
Time of validity and renewal of an SSL
The SSL Certificate expires after a fixed moment in time. Your web site guests can see this warning too when the SSL Certificate expires. You must renew your SSL Certificate on time. You should request the renewal of your SSL Certificate at least one week before its expiration date.
The OpenSSL
The Open Secure Socket Layer Protocol is a public cryptography library. It is an open-source project that applies the SSL Protocol. It is an easy way to get a SSL Certificate for those who know how to install it from the command line in different operating systems.
Usually people use this toolkit for business or non-commercial purposes. Developers maintain and distribute it in Europe, and wherever else it is free. In other parts of the globe, it has some usage restrictions.
How to choose an SSL Certificate?
If you don’t know how to choose a SSL certificate, then please feel free to contact us. We will recommend you an SSL that is well adjusted to your website and business at a very affordable price.
Choose an SSL with CyberSSL.com and make sure that your customer buys your products and services in a safe way.
We provide only SSL Certificates with high-leveled security and integrity for your existing and potential customers. Get your SSL with us!
