The HTTPS protocol is the most popular and widely used method of using SSL and TLS for secure online surfing. Every HTTPS site that is open to the public must have an SSL/TLS certificate issued and signed by a publicly reputable CA. The following are promises made to website visitors when an HTTPS connection is used:
Authenticity
The server providing the certificate has the private key, whereas the server holds the public key.
Integrity
The certificate provides a guarantee against in-transit tampering of any signed document, including web pages.
Encryption
Encryption is used to transmit data between the client and the server. Because to these features, SSL/TLS and HTTPS enable users to securely send sensitive information like login credentials, credit card information, and social security numbers over the internet. Before submitting sensitive information, users may verify the validity of the website. The data is transferred in plain text and may be read by anybody who happens to be listening in on the transmission if the website is utilising an unsecured HTTP protocol. Users of these unprotected sites have no way of knowing for sure that what they are viewing is what it purports to be. To determine whether a website is secured by a reliable SSL/TLS certificate, look for the following indicators in the address bar of your browser (screenshot from Firefox 70.0 on macOS):
On the left, the Address is shown with a padlocked door.
The colour of the padlock’s border and the details it shows about the organisation that owns and runs the website depend on the browser you’re using and the security certificate for the website. Users using contemporary desktop browsers will also get a warning when they try to access an unsecure website that does not have an what is SSL or TLS certificate. Below is a snapshot of a website that was accessed using Firefox and may be harmful. Note the intact padlock that is located to the left of the URL. For that you need to know what is SSL.
Methods for Obtaining SSL/TLS Certificates
Do you have a strategy in place to keep your website safe? The following stages make up the fundamental process for getting a public-trusted SSL/TLS website certificate:
- The certificate applicant is in charge of creating a set of public and private keys, ideally on the target server.
- Get the public key, the domain names that need protection, and (for OV and EV certificates) the company’s organisational information, then put it all together in a certificate signing request. Then the CA receives this request for verification (CSR).
- For instructions on creating a keypair and CSR on various server platforms, please refer to this FAQ.
- The CSR is then given to a publicly reputable CA (such as SSL.com). The CA generates a signed certificate that may be deployed on the owner’s web server after validating the information in the CSR.
Check out this guide if you need assistance ordering an SSL/TLS certificate from SSL.com
Depending on the validation techniques employed and the degree of assurance they give, different SSL/TLS certificates may provide differing levels of confidence, with extended validation (EV) certificates giving the maximum level of trust. See our article on “DV, OV, and EV Certificates” for a thorough discussion of the distinctions between the three most common kinds of validation (DV, OV, and EV).
