SSL/TLS certificates prove a website's identity and provide a secure connection between browsers and servers. Different SSL certificate options are available with various value propositions and use cases.
There are three recognized categories of SSL certificate authentication types:
1) Class 1 SSL Domain Validation (DV):
Accuweb Hosting offers a Class 1 SSL certificate. The Domain validation verifies the person requesting the certificate controls under the domain.
The available options for proving domain ownership are listed below.
Email Verification: In this verification method, you will need to have access to one email account from the below-mentioned,
- Admin@yourdomain.com
- Administrator@yourdomain.com
- Webmaster@yourdomain.com
- Hostmaster@yourdomain.com
- Postmaster@yourdomain.com
DNS Verification: In this method, you must create a CNAME or a TXT record within your DNS Manager and wait for it to propagate to the internet.
File Verification: You will need to create one file at your-domain/.well-known/pki-validation/fileauth.txt and need to add a token value to this file to use this verification method.
The value propositions of Class 1 SSL (Domain Validation SSL):
- Approves the control of a domain.
- Activates https and padlock icon on browsers.
- SSL certificate Issues within a few minutes after verification.
2) Class 2 SSL Organization Validation (OV):
Organization Validation (OV) checks the identity of the applicant's organization. Class 2 verifies the email account and other basic verification steps to confirm the Subscriber's identity. Only registered organizations are eligible to obtain these certificates.
The value propositions of Class 2 SSL Organization Validation (OV):
- Approves the control of a domain.
- Activates https and padlock icon on browsers.
- SSL certificate Issues in 1 to 3 days after verification.
- Details about the organization are included in the certificate information.
3) Class 3 SSL Extended Validation (EV):
A Class 3 Certificate provides high levels of assurance. The Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate provides business websites with the highest trust. There are fewer steps involved in verifying OV and DV certificates, with DV certificate verification requiring proof that the domain owner controls the domain and OV certificates requiring some identifying information but less than an EV certificate.
The value propositions of Class 3 SSL Extended Validation (EV):
- This validates the domain's ownership.
- This certificate enables https and the padlock image on the browser.
- Verifies the legitimacy of the organization, adding a level of trust.
- Details about the organization can be found on the certificate.
- This activates the green bar on browsers.
- This certificate Issues in 1-5 days.