SSL Certificate acts as a backbone of Internet security system. It provides an encrypted link between a browser and a server, which helps in transferring or sharing data in encrypted from to keep the data integral and secure from falling in the wrong hands and from being misused. There are many types of SSL certificates available in the market, but it depends upon requirement of the applicant, what level of SSL certificate would suite him the best. Higher the security required, higher the level of SSL certificate is needed. Various SSL certificates are divided into two groups on the basis of validation level and secured domains and sub-domains:
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Validation level
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Domain Validation Certificate
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Organization Validation Certificate
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Extended Validation Certificate
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Domain and sub-domain
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Single Domain Certificate
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Wildcard Certificate
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Multi-domain Certificate
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In this article, we will discuss about Extended Validation Certificate (EV) and Wildcard certificate and how these certificates provide multiple layer of online protection.
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Wildcard certificate: If you own a domain and multiple sub domains, and you want to secure them all, instead of buying certificate for every single domain and sub domain, you can buy Wildcard certificate, which will secure an unlimited number of sub domains but to a specific level. Along with providing security to multiple domains and sub domains, it will also save your time and money, which you would have wasted in buying and installing multiple certificates for every single domain and sub domain.
Technically, we can say that a Wildcard Certificate is a public key certificate and it can be used with numerous sub domains of a domain. The primary use of this certificate is to secure website prefixed with https://. A single Wildcard certificate works for your convenience and saves a lot of time, but it also protects or secures the main domain as well as its sub domain at the same time.
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EV SSL certificate: EV stands for Extended Validation Certificate and it involves strict selection process of validation to make sure that the entity requesting for this certificate is legal and genuine. If a website is secured with a certified EV SSL certificate, it will be indicated by Green colored address bar. Similar to Wildcard Certificate, Extended Validation Certificate is also used for websites prefixed with https:// and also for softwares that verify legal entity, which controls the software package or website itself. To obtain EV Certificate, CA (Certification Authority) will verify the identity of applicant and if information provided by the entity is correct then the certificate is issued. Verification here is very important because EV certificate provides a higher level of security.