What are SSL Certificates? All must know about Free or Paid

Perhaps in the near future, an SSL certificate will become a necessity not only for online stores or online banking but for all types of websites. It is worth considering the implementation of the HTTPS protocol today. We suggest what certificate to choose.

What is an SSL Certificate & what are the Benefits of Implementing the HTTPS Protocol

We wrote about what an SSL certificate is and what are the benefits of using HTTPS in one of the previous entries.

Short replay from the previous lesson:

The SSL certificate is designed to ensure the confidentiality of everyone using the website. This is due to data encryption.
Data encryption on websites is important because the number of hacker attacks on websites is appalling. In the second quarter of 2017, Kaspersky Lab’s Anti-Phishing system blocked about 47 million attempts to enter phishing sites (phishing is one of the most common types of attacks on the network).
The most popular browsers, i.e. Chrome and Firefox, mean websites that do not use the SSL certificate as dangerous.
There are many advantages to using an SSL certificate. These are primarily security (both the website and users visiting it), credibility and trust in the eyes of customers, impact on the position of the website in Google rankings, the possibility of integrating the store with a Facebook account or meeting the requirements of GIODO.
Without an SSL certificate, you cannot run advertising campaigns on Google Shopping.

For more information, we invite you to the previous entry, and now we will focus on the types of SSL certificates that you can implement on your site.

Which Certificates you can Benefit from

SSL certificates can be divided into free and paid ones. Free certificates are recommended primarily to people who run small websites or blogs. Let’s Encrypt is one of the tools that does not require payment of fees.

However, if you run an online store where your customers provide detailed personal data or make online purchases (e.g. via online transfers or credit cards), or you are the owner of a website where users enter other confidential information, it is better to use paid certificates. In a moment we will describe the basic differences between free and paid certificates.

What are the Free and Paid SSL Certificates Differ

There are many websites on the web that offer free certificates. They are, among others:

Let’s Encrypt,
SSL for Free,
Free SSL
Go, Daddy

One of the most popular and trusted is Let’s Encrypt. Based on this company’s offer, we’ll look at one of the basic differences between free and paid certificates. I am talking about available validation types. Here are the main differences:

Free certificates: they only offer validation of domain identity, i.e. SSL DV (Domain Validation).
Paid certificate: two other validations are also available. The first is SSL OV (Organization Validation) – it identifies both the identity of the domain itself and its owner. The second type of validation is SSL EV (Extended Validation) – the domain, its owner, as well as the business entity and company address, are subject to identification. A website that uses the SSL EV certificate can be recognized by the green bar in the address field in the browser.

Why are free EV and OV certificates not available? Because they are protected by more restrictions than DV. While SSL DV can be generated by filling out the form, obtaining EV and OV involves, for example, the need to send various types of documents that are to confirm the company’s data.

Another difference between free and paid certificates is the Trust Seal. If you want to buy cheap Instagram Followers UK then go with Social Captain. His task is to confirm that the site uses an SSL certificate and has been checked in accordance with global standards. For the user, this is a sign that the site can be trusted.

You should also pay attention to the so-called Certificate Authority (CA) and warranty in the event of a key break. Free certificates usually do not provide such opportunities.

Do Certificates Ensure the Entire Encryption of Data

In this case, it is worth focusing on the offer of the aforementioned Cloud flare Company, which in addition to free SSL certificates also gives the opportunity to use services such as CDN or protection against DDOS attacks. Although Cloud flare’s offer is rich, free certificates leave some security holes.
The main shortcoming of some free certificates (e.g. Cloud flare) is the encryption of communication between the website and the server in one direction only. This means that data is secured (encrypted) only when it is transferred between users and Cloud flare servers. However, data sent from the Cloud flare server to the destination server does not have this encryption.

Although this is an aspect that you may not pay attention to at first, it is worth remembering similar nuances. This can be of great importance especially when you run a website that processes sensitive user data.

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Winslow

Winslow is a tech geek. He served various industries after completing his masters in electronics. By having a lot of interest in upgrading technology, he has been actively testing devices and checking their possible applications to improve life.