DEV Community: Https

HOW TO RENEW SSL CERTIFICATE FOR MY WEBSITE

Https — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 10:22:00 +0000

Looking to renew SSL certificate? Here’s how you can do it hassle-free!

Securing your website with an SSL certificate is a piece of cake. It doesn’t require much of your time nor does it burn a hole through your pocket. But, here’s the catch. These SSL certificates expire within a 1-2 year validity period. If you’re facing something similar too, it’s time to renew the SSL certificate for your website.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind before you renew your SSL certificate for your website.

Purchasing and Renewing SSL certificates is a similar process. It’s cost-effective and we make the process simple for you!
Time is of the essence. If you have only a few days left for your certificate’s expiry make sure you renew the SSL certificate as soon as possible.
Renewing SSL certificates before their expiry date is crucial. This is because it serves as a trust seal for your customers and a frozen trust seal isn’t a pleasant sight.

SSL Certificates	Discount	Warranty
RapidSSL	Upto 73%	$10,000	Renew Now
GeoTrust True BusinessID	Upto 80%	$1,250,000	Renew Now
GeoTrust True BusinessID with EV	Upto 65%	$1,500,000	Renew Now
Sectigo PositiveSSL Certificate	Upto 87%	$10,000	Renew Now
InstantSSL (OV)	Upto 82%	$50,000	Renew Now

What happens if you forget to renew SSL Certificate?

If you forget to renew the SSL Certificate, a pop-up is displayed in the Web Browser showing a message as “The site’s security certificate has expired” to the user visiting the site.

A site with no SSL Certificate is prone to attacks and the information could be tampered with or stolen in transit. To understand this, read our article on the Risks of Not Having an SSL Certificate.

So what needs to be done so that the website is secured again?
(Simple: Renew your SSL Certificate and secure the website from dangerous pop up that displays in the web browser)

STEPS TO RENEW SSL CERTIFICATE

The process of SSL certificate renewal is the same as purchasing a new one. Follow the below steps to renew SSL Certificate:

Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
Select your SSL certificate
Select the validity (1-year or 2-year)
Fill up all necessary details
Click on the Continue button
Review your SSL order
Make the payment
Deploy your SSL certificate on the server. (In case, you are facing a problem in installing we are Happy to help! We provide a free Technical Assistant.

Things to keep in mind during renewal

During the renewal of the SSL certificate, your information needs to be re-validated.
This implies you’ll need to complete the DCV (Domain Control Validation) steps via email. Moreover, your HTTPS validation or DNS based validation selected during the activation process will also be validated.
If you have an OV (Organization validation) or EV (Extended Validation) certificate, the company information will be verified once again. A resubmission of your documents to the CA (Certificate Authority) will also be required.
The certificate will be emailed to you after a successful renewal. You should then install that on your server for the renewal to take effect

There is also a general query like:

#1 Do I need a new CSR when renewing SSL?

Yes, you do. Every time you opt for a renewal, you must generate a new CSR/RSA pair that’s mandatory to save your RSA for the further installation process.

If you cannot generate CSR yourself, ask your web hosting provider to do this for you.

Once done, you can proceed with the next steps but maintain the same contact information while getting an OV/EV SSL certificate. This will speed up your renewal process.

#2 How long does it take to renew SSL Certificate?

It’s important to know how long does renew SSL Certificate takes. The period taken to renew an SSL Certificate is the same as buying a new SSL Certificate. They follow similar steps.

The time taken for the issuance of the Renew SSL Certificate depends on multiple factors. So, the time period given below may vary depending on a smooth validation process. If you are Renewing Domain Validation (DV) SSL Certificate then it might take about 1-2 hours to issue.

Renewing Organization Validation (OV) SSL Certificate takes 4-5 Days.
Meanwhile, renewing an Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate takes 1-2 weeks.

#3 Why do SSL Certificates Expire?

There have been long debates regarding – why long-life certificates don’t exist or why do SSL certificates expire?

The answer is “Security”. A shorter life certificate helps mitigate compromises of keys, as new keys are generated every time. Also, to ensure all certificates are using the latest security standards.

#4 How do I know when my SSL certificate expires?

Many times, it’s hard to remember the expiry date of the certificate and fails to renew it on time. So, here’s a tool to make that task easier and simple- Have a look at the SSL Checker!

It helps you to keep track of your SSL Certificate and its upcoming expiry dates.

If you opt for Https. in then you don’t have to keep a track of your SSL’s expiry dates either as we will notify you of the expiration date every 90,60,30 days before the expiry.

#5 How do I fix an expired SSL certificate?

As we know SSL Certificate expires once its validity period is over. To avoid this expired SSL Certificate, the website owner or any person having the authority of the website can simply renew the SSL certificate.

Steps to Fix Expired SSL Certificate:

Choose the right SSL certificate for your website
Select the validity (1-year or 2-year)
Click on the “Renew Now” Button
Fill up all necessary details
Click on the Continue button
Review your SSL order
Make the payment
Enroll your SSL Certificate
Finally, Deploy your SSL certificate on the server.

By following these above steps, you could fix your expired SSL Certificate and secure your website again.

Visit our page for any queries to renew your SSL Certificate!

SSL vs TLS: Who wins the ‘MOST SECURED’ title?

Https — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 04:38:31 +0000

In today’s online world, no one wants to compromise with their online security and privacy. They want a secure and encrypted connection. But having a secure connection is one thing and maintaining one is another.

TLS and SSL are concepts that are often confused by people. Hence, this article will help you to get a clearer picture about the same.

A lot of questions might come to your mind, such as

Which one is better? Are both secure? Which one should I choose? etc.

But before we move on to the main subject, here’s a short SSL & TLS history lesson you need to know.

What are SSL and TLS used for?

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protects data that is transferred from a web browser to a server. In this way, SSL ensures that all data transmitted between a web server and a browser stays private and secure.

The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol provides security at the transport layer. This protocol was derived from Secure Socket Layer (SSL). TLS prevents third parties from eavesdropping or tampering with messages.

History of SSL & TLS

In 1993, the World Wide Web revolutionized internet access. By 1995, the internet was estimated to have 44 million users. "The father of SSL," Taher Elgamal, came up with the idea of SSL. SSL was developed by a company called Netscape when Taher was their chief scientist. SSL 1.0, the first-ever SSL protocol, was never publicly released due to serious security flaws.

This led to the release of SSL 2.0 in 1995, which also included several security vulnerabilities. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) published SSL 3.0 in 1996, the third and final version.

The TLS 1.0 protocol, a replacement for SSL 3.0, was written by Christopher Allen and Tim Dierks of Consensus Development three years later. This led to the birth of TLS 1.0 (which was actually SSL 3.1). Microsoft changed the name so as not to seem like a rubber-stamp for Netscape.

There have been three other versions released since then, each adding significant security improvements. As of right now, TLS 1.2 is being replaced with TLS 1.3, which was released in 2018.

What is the difference between TLS and SSL?

Well, there are many prominent yet similar differences in SSL vs TLS. But the most fundamental difference between these protocols is how they establish connections.

Both support their own set of algorithms that improve your website’s security and overall performance. Let’s take a look at the differences between SSL vs TLS in a tabular format.

TLS Certificate	SSL Certificate
TLS certificates are also known as ‘Transfer Layer Security’	SSL certificates are also known as Secure Sockets Layer
Compared to SSLs, TLS is a simpler protocol.	SSL is a more complex protocol than TLS to implement.
TLS has four versions where the TLS 1.3 version is the latest	Whereas SSL has three versions, of which SSL 3.0 is the latest.
TLS protocol offers higher security than SSL.	All SSL protocol versions are comparatively susceptible to vulnerabilities.
The TLS protocol was released in 1999.	Meanwhile, the SSL v2.0 was released in 1995 and v3.0 in 1996.
TLS supports the Fortezza (algorithm)	SSL does not support the Fortezza algorithm.
TLS certificates have a complex verification process	SSL certificates offer an easy validation process.

Uses of SSL vs TLS

Now both SSL & TLS certificates serve the same purpose- robust website security. The encryption used helps to protect web applications against data tampering and eavesdropping. This is slowly transforming into a standard digital norm in the online security world.

When we speak of SSL vs TLS certificates, we observe their similarities before their differences. Here the primary similarity is to respond to security threats.
Also, TLS & SSLs fulfill the need to encrypt communications between the client and the server thus making it a successful connection.
The SSL vs TLS debate is never-ending as both help protect user privacy and security. Without them, all your sensitive data can fall into the wrong hands.

Which is better SSL or TLS?

There is no question that TLS is better than SSL.

In large part due to known security vulnerabilities, SSL is deprecated. Thus, SSL in 2019 and beyond is not a completely secure protocol.

Instead, you should use TLS the more modern version of SSL. The most recent versions of TLS provide performance benefits and other improvements as well.

In addition to being more secure and more performant, TLS is also supported by most modern web browsers. For example, Google Chrome stopped supporting SSL 3.0 a long time ago, and most major browsers plan to stop supporting TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 by 2020.

In Chrome, Google has actually started displaying warnings for ERR_SSL_OBSOLETE_VERSION.

How do you know if a certificate is SSL or TLS?

1) Launch Google Chrome.
2) Enter the URL you wish to check into the browser.
3) Click on the ellipsis located at the top-right of the browser.
4) Choose More tools > Developer tools > Security.
5) Look under the line "Connection..." to see which version of TLS or SSL is used.

Why is it called an SSL certificate? If TLS is more secure?

We have learned that TLS is a more recent version of SSL, and it has been deprecated for more than 10 years and contains known security vulnerabilities.

Those of you who are wondering why it's called an SSL certificate instead of a TLS certificate might find the answer here. Because TLS is a modern, secure protocol.

You can see, for example, on our home page, we advertise an SSL certificate, not a TLS certificate.

You need not be concerned: Https.in does not use outdated technology.

Basically, there is a branding issue behind why people still call them SSL certificates. The naming convention persists because most major certificate providers still refer to certificates as SSL certificates.

As a matter of fact, all of the "SSL Certificates" you see are really SSL/TLS Certificates.

Conclusion

As the winner of the ‘Most Secure’ title, TLS wins with the most positive points. SSL is a remarkably close second, but it has a few weak areas where TLS is more secure.

The bottom line is that both technologies secure the connections between websites and end-users, and either one is an excellent choice for most businesses.

Russian TLS Certs Raises Security Risks

Https — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 06:03:03 +0000

Russian TLS certs face Traffic interception and MitM attacks!

In the light of the current Ukraine invasion, Russia's domestic TLS Certificate Authority that bypasses Western sanctions replaces, revokes, and mends expired certificates faces a significant security threat.

Many Russian websites are unable to renew their certificates due to the restrictions imposed on foreign payments. Browsers have blocked access to sites that use an international signing authority.

Due to this, the Russian state has actively launched a domestic TLS certificate authority (CA) that helps websites issue and renew their TLS certificates hassle-free.

But here's the catch, the risks of Russian-owned and -issued TLS certificates include traffic interception and major man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks.

Russian domestic CA to replace, revoke or renew expired foreign certs

TLS certificates encrypt data sent between browsers, websites, and servers. They are also known as SSL certificates or digital certificates.

As a result of an expiring certificate, browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox alert users that the page may not be secure, which can drive users away.

Due to the restrictions imposed websites are having a hard time with their TLS certificate renewals. So, as per a Russian public-service announcement, the state promises will replace foreign security certificates that are being revoked or have expired absolutely free-of-charge upon request.

Browsing giants like Chrome and Firefox are yet to recognize these state-supplied certificates as trustworthy. However, the Russian media has circulated a list of 200 domains that have been asked to use the domestic TLS certificates, although it's not mandatory yet.

Russian-issued TLS certs face security threats

"With the major certificate authorities revoking or simply not renewing the certificates for Russian businesses, they are left in a difficult position,” Mike Parkin, researcher and senior technical engineer at Vulcan Cyber, tells CSO.

He also emphasizes the unlikeliness of major browsers ever accepting the new Russian CA. This might be a problem for many Russian users too.

Many will have to still continue relying on their CAs as they're sanctioned by the government itself. Also, they are not well known for respecting user privacy or taking a strong stand against cybercriminals.

Ideally, if you cannot trust your CA, then you can’t trust their authorized certificates either. This is because they could be used in a MitM attack.

Yuval Wollman, the president of CyberProof and ex-director-general of the Israeli Intelligence Ministry exclaimed that if one wants to minimize the risk, they must keep their employees away from any Russian-issued TLS certificates. Questions were raised on their legitimacy and uncertain control.

He advised blocking access to sites using such Russian-issued TLS certificates with a blacklist until the situation can be reassessed.

Russia's “sovereign internet”

According to a Flashpoint blog post, Russia’s total disconnection from the global internet is imminent.

It states that this would happen under a 2019 Law on Sovereign Internet. In fact, they believe that disconnecting Russian internet infrastructure from the global internet would be a defensive move. However, it is introspective that this leaves a wide room for interpretation.

Flashpoint also suggests that this could make many websites that do not belong to Russia unreachable for Russian users. It might also create service degradation, and defeat evasion methods such as VPNs.

Moreover, many hackers are looking for solutions to bypass Russia's increasing state control over online traffic. They're trying to disconnect Russia altogether, says Flashpoint.

The analysts at Flashpoint also observed that threat actors suggested several workarounds of existing and potential future blocks that include:

A content bot on the forum offered software using anti-DPI technology. This would allow users to bypass the existing blocks by not leaving digital fingerprints that are typical of VPN, Tor, and proxy services. The DPI technology relies on blocking the use of such evasion techniques.

A VPN service on the YouHack forum claims to bypass DPI technology and prevent ISPs from logging DNS queries.

Users of the top-tier Exploit forum suggest using a Telegram bot that provides Tor bridges. Earlier, users suggested using a VPN-Tor-VPN combo to bypass blocks.

Conclusion:

The situation is tense for Russia's businesses and startup owners. This switch could benefit yet also exhaust the owners of their resources. Thank you for reading this blog! We'll be back with more information soon.

Using SSL for SEO helps you Rank Higher (Based on Real Statistics)

Https — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 06:50:06 +0000

Is your website ranking on Google SERPs?

To rank better, you need to do a lot of SEO. Lots, we mean it.

But, what if you could increase your SEO rankings with a simple trick?

Not only this but also increase your website's security? (which Google loves)

Yes, it’s possible with an SSL Certificate! Don’t believe it? Let us show you how.

Google has been actively endorsing websites to shift towards HTTPS. And the reason is purely security and a great customer experience.

Shifting from HTTP to HTTPS indirectly means getting your website an SSL certificate.

And, the truth be told, an SSL certificate hits two birds with one stone.

It not only improves your website’s security but also its SEO ranking.

So, let’s dig in to find how SSL for SEO is possible in 2022.

Which SSL Certificate Helps Boosts SEO Rankings?

Here is a list of SSL Certificates that can boost your website's SEO ranking.

SSL Certificates	Discount	Warranty
RapidSSL	Upto 73%	$10,000	Buy Now
GeoTrust True BusinessID	Upto 80%	$1,250,000	Buy Now
GeoTrust True BusinessID with EV	Upto 65%	$1,500,000	Buy Now
Sectigo PositiveSSL Certificate	Upto 87%	$10,000	Buy Now
InstantSSL (OV)	Upto 82%	$50,000	Buy Now

How SSL improves a website’s SEO (Real-Life Case):

[caption id="attachment_1611" align="aligncenter" width="831"] Business keywords make their mark in the top 10[/caption]

Now that HTTPS is being considered as a page-experience factor, many companies have been witnessing a MASSIVE increase in their rankings.

Google's Gary Illyes claims that HTTPS can act as a tiebreaker in search engine results. In fact, Cloudtec observed their business keywords in the top 10 once they switched to HTTPS.

Their study involved monitoring their business keywords, social media shares, page visibility etc.

Their results displayed a 7% increase in their website ranking.

Not only this but they also reported their improved page visibility after using an SSL for SEO.

Why must you get an SSL for SEO purposes?

The weather and SERP ranking algorithms work in mysterious ways. But the crux remains the same.

Your website must be secure and relevant.

So, let’s focus on the ‘secure’ aspects of SSL certificates and how they massively boost your website’s rankings effortlessly.

1) SSL certificates make your website rank higher.

[caption id="attachment_1610" align="aligncenter" width="827"] Improved page visibility after the HTTPS switch.[/caption]

The HTTPS version of your website is an indication that it has been verified while the HTTP version’s ‘’Not secure’ sign is a scary signal.

Even if your website has the best of products on the internet, your customers won’t trust you back. Yes, that’s how bad the ‘Not secure’ sign is.

So, when you’ve installed an SSL certificate, the scary sign disappears, and your customers finally shop with a pocket full of trust.

Now, since you’ve got a secure website with great products, your website climbs the Google rank ladder fast.

And that’s how SSL certificates help you ace your SEO game.

2) Lower the bounce, the higher the rank

Would you buy groceries that look delicious but have a ‘medically hazardous’ tag on them? You’ll keep them back faster than you say, ‘No thanks!’.

That’s what your customers do when they visit your HTTP website.

They turn the other way (towards your competition) as soon as they see the ‘Not secure’ sign.

The longer you display this sign, the more people will lose interest in you. This increases your website’s bounce rate, a clear indication that customers do not like you. This hinders your rank.

But, with an SSL certificate, you attack the source of the problem.

No more scary signs, no more customers going away.

Lower the bounce, the higher the rank.

3) Google endorses SSL for SEO and online presence

In 2016, Google announced, “we’ll mark HTTP pages that collect passwords or credit cards as non-secure, as part of a long-term plan to mark all HTTP sites as non-secure”.

According to Google, “A substantial portion of web traffic has transitioned to HTTPS so far, and HTTPS usage is consistently increasing. We hit a milestone with more than half of Chrome desktop page loads now served over HTTPS.”

In addition to this, they added, “since the time we released our HTTPS report in February, 12 more of the top 100 websites have changed their serving default from HTTP to HTTPS.” This can be validated from 2017 statistics.

In fact, in 2015, Google’s Gary Illes made a statement that “HTTPS May Break Ties Between Two Equal Search Results” This pushed a lot of digital marketers to opt for SSL products and switch from HTTP to HTTPS.

Moreover, Google has been actively endorsing SSL certification since 2014. And, in their official webmaster’s blog titled, “HTTPS as a ranking signal”, they recommended HTTPS encryption for all.

CMS wants you to get an SSL for SEO!

Popular open-source Content Management Systems (CMS) like Word Press also wants websites like yours to move to SSL.

In their 2016 blog, they stated, “First, early in 2017, we will only promote hosting partners that provide an SSL certificate by default in their accounts. Later we will begin to assess which features, such as API authentication, would benefit the most from SSL and make them only enabled when SSL is there”.

Other popular CMS continues to follow the CMS giant- Wordpress’s footsteps thus making it absolutely necessary for websites to get an SSL for SEO rankings.

Conclusion

With more websites rising up each day, 2022 will give you a tough time ranking and leading your way in the market. This is time to get yourself an SSL for SEO purposes that puts you at the top rank.

We hope this article was helpful, we’ll be back with more updates soon!

A Beginner’s Guide to DigiCert Smart Seal: What It is & Why Do You Need It For Your Website.

Https — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 09:19:08 +0000

Have you ever implemented a Site Seal on any of your websites before?

Well, to brush up on your memory here are some of the pictures of well-known site seals.

If you are new to Site Seal: These site seals are a symbol of trust for most customers. The seal aka the Trust Marks is popular, and they add a great deal of credibility to the website using it.

Trust marks have been used to enforce the genuineness and authenticity of the website in the minds of the website visitors.
If you are new to Site Seal: These site seals are a symbol of trust for most customers. The seal aka the Trust Marks is popular, and they add a great deal of credibility to the website using it.

Trust marks have been used to enforce the genuineness and authenticity of the website in the minds of the website visitors.

What if you are already owning a Site Seal?

This Site Seal are well known as “Static Site Seal” which is associated with SSL certificates. These site seals are clickable static images with less attention-grabbing to your online visitors.

As years are passing by, the innovation in technology is rapidly increasing. Similarly, going forward Static Seal will be replaced by Smart Seal.

Yes, you heard it right! Smart Seal introduced by the most trusted CA – DigiCert.

Let’s talk more about why DigiCert Smart Seal is a big deal.

What is the DigiCert Smart Seal?

With trust factors evolving each day, DigiCert launched its brand new ‘DigiCert Smart Seal’. We mean it, it is indeed the smartest. The DigiCert Smart Seal is the first of its kind as it displays the brand’s verified logo along with plenty of details as the user hovers over it.

Moreover, the smart seal plays the role of a trust magnet as it draws attention towards itself with its attention-grabbing animation. Well, if you have taken extra security measures, why not show it to the world?

Also, once a visitor clicks the smart seal, it displays a detailed splash page that helps them gain visibility on the company’s security practices that too in consumer-friendly terms! What’s more? The splash page gives information about CT monitoring, PCI scan, malware scan, blocked list, and other relevant info, all in one click.

Why do you need The DigiCert Smart Seal?

A trust seal can be the difference between conversion and cancellation on your eCommerce site. A 2020 DigiCert study suggests that 71% of customers look for a site seal before hitting the ‘Pay now’ button.

At times, customers abandon the website due to the absence of these seals. Another study from Crazyegg suggests, websites skyrocketed their conversions and ROI by 48% after displaying the trusted site seal. In fact, small businesses and start-ups get the bang of the buck by using a trust seal. MNCs like eBay or Amazon do not require a site seal. People already trust these e-commerce giants. As for SBMs, a 20% increase in conversions has been observed just by displaying a Smart seal. The premium smart seal rekindles trust, brand recognition, and identity for customers and companies alike.

Nurture trust among your customers.

A company strengthens its bonds of trust with every customer interaction. Communicate to your customers that your brand cares about their online security. With the unparalleled DigiCert Smart Seal, you nurture that trust among your users. Gain confidence among your clients as a website is proactively protecting their data.

A customer trusts your brand once you display your commitment to security and trust is the cornerstone of the business world. Borrow trust from the world’s leading provider of TLS/SSL, IoT and PKI solutions. Also, you are not alone, 89% of the fortune 500 and 97 of the top 100 global banks trust DigiCert with their security.

Attention-Grabbing

Let us first understand why you need to switch from the old static site seal to the newly innovated smart seal. The old site seals used by most of us were simple, static images. They could be misused by simply copying them. An animated seal makes it tough to be replicated. Also, it draws attention towards itself allowing users to click it. Once they do, they gain transparency towards your company’s security measures.

Establish Credibility

The DigiCert site seal displays the information needed to ensure a trustworthy transaction. When a website visitor clicks the Smart seal, they can view all the verified info about your website. A detailed splash page displays all the active web security features. It presents them in consumer-friendly terms which creates utmost transparency and trust, all in one click. Have a look at the image below to know what sheer transparency looks like.

Feature guide of the DigiCert Smart Seal

1) Verified Logo
For the first time, visitors can view the company’s verified logo as they hover over the DigiCert Smart Seal. DigiCert is the pioneering company to issue this major trustworthy feature. When visitors click on the seal a splash page with elaborated customer-friendly info appears which can be used to check the website’s legitimacy.

2) Encrypted Site
The verified web address of the encrypted website is displayed on the splash page.
3) Organization Name
The DigiCert Smart Seal displays the verified parent company managing the encrypted website.
4) Location Verified
DigiCert also considers displaying the origin country of the organization managing the website.
5) TLS/SSL Certificate
To maintain the promise of sheer transparency and trust, DigiCert does not fail to mention the expiry date of the TLS/SSL certificate on the splash page.
6) Certificate Type
The splash page mentions the concerned certificate type issued by the organization.
7) Registration
The confirmed registration status is displayed.
8) Address
DigiCert verifies the physical location of the parent company as a security measure.
9) Phone Number
The contact info of the parent company is verified.

10) E-mail Address
DigiCert verifies the official e-mail address used by the brand.
11) Domain Ownership
DigiCert confirms if the domain ownership of the website registering the certificate is verified.
12) Warranty Level
The customers can gain insights into the warranty amount of the issued certificate.
13) Verified Customer
Let your customers know how old your bond is with the most trusted name in the TLS/SSL certificate industry.
14) Malware Scan
Instill real-time confidence in the customers as your domain has been checked against 70 plus antivirus scanners and blocklist services.
15) CT Log Monitoring
Premium DigiCert products like Secure Site Pro certificates give access to a CT log monitoring service. Customers opting for the DigiCert Smart Seal can view the timestamp of the day the CT log monitoring began on their website.
16) Blocklist
A blacklisted website is not a good sign. Websites having a bad reputation are avoided the most. Let your customers know that your business is free from all government and country-specific blocklists.

Static Site Seal vs DigiCert Smart Seal

Features	Static Site Seal	DigiCert Smart Seal
Clickable	✔️	✔️
Attention-Grabbing	❌	✔️
Splash Page	❌	✔️
Brand Verified Logo	❌	✔️
EVs Associated	All DigiCert Products	Secure Site & Secure Site Pro

How to get your DigiCert Smart Seal?

The new DigiCert Smart Seal is available with Secure Site and Secure Site Pro. You can buy these SSL certificates from our website or talk to our sales team for further information. Our support team will handhold you for the technical aspects of certificate issuance and seal implementation. Also, refer to the technical FAQ for installation queries.

In this fast-paced world, upgrading with the latest technology is mandatory. Upgrade your static seals to the dynamic smart seal today! We would love to help you get your conversions of the charts. Do not miss a chance to be one step ahead of the industry.

Inquire for your DigiCert Smart Seal today!

👉 Click here

Everything about Google Chrome’s Latest Update: Version 90

Https — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 11:52:45 +0000

We have been constantly updating you on Google’s every step to make the internet a paradise. We previously informed you about the Google Chrome update and similar movements initiated by Firefox as well.

To make the ‘www’ more secure for all the Chrome users across the world, Google has come up with its latest update; Chrome update version 90. In this article, we are going to brief you on what the updates mean for you and shed light on Google’s plan to make the internet a better place for netizens.

Now, all websites will be automatically loaded in ‘HTTPS as a default instead of the previously used ‘HTTP’. This update allows websites to load faster and ensure safe navigation. Websites not supporting ‘HTTPS’ will fall back onto ‘HTTP.

Having a ‘Not secure’ prompt display in your website’s URL is a major downside to the website’s user experience as well as conversion rate. Over the years, customers have run away from the default HTTP unsecured websites. Bearing this in mind, Google came up with its latest feature for website owners to ensure a much reliable experience. Find out how!

HTTPS has been consistently faster and secure than the default HTTP protocol for decades. With this situation in mind, Google found an excellent opportunity to revamp into a much secure and user-friendly experience. Realising that users type incomplete URLs while accessing websites, Google decided to update Chrome 90, through which users will be redirected to the secure HTTPS without specifying the protocol.

As per the latest data from Google’s Transparency Report, 95% of websites use encryptions to safeguard their conversions, bounce rate, and traffic. This security improvisation was announced in March 2021 in the Chromium Project blog along with other Chrome 90 updates. Compared to the other updates like video conferencing and reduced data consumption, the safe HTTPS navigation update received the limelight.

In the competition for (HTTP:// vs HTTPS://), HTTPS certainly wins as it is a safer navigation option for users. This implies if you visit a website let us say ‘safe.com’ on your browser, Google will load the website as https://safe.com. Here, Google discards the usual http://safe.com completely making the ‘HTTPS’ default.

Also, read our guide on the difference between HTTP & HTTPS

Making the shift of automatically loading HTTPS as the default protocol for websites, has proved to improve the website’s loading speed along with privacy measures. HTTPS Being the widely used and default protocol now, will not be catering to websites that do not support it.

In such cases, Chrome will bounce back to HTTP instead of HTTPS.

Meaning, if a local host tries to access a website that does not support HTTPS, Chrome will fall back on the HTTP protocol instead of the updated HTTPS feature. This is also inferred upon certificate errors, untrusted self-signed certificates, connections errors, etc.

The Chrome 90 update overcomes Google’s historical scheme of loading default HTTP web pages resulting in the daunting ‘Not Secure’ warning. Over the years, this has driven away potential customers from businesses.

Why does the shift to HTTPS as a default matter?

Shifting to HTTPS as the default browser can have a positive impact on loading websites as Google presumes that most websites are using SSL/TLS certificates. Considering most websites do use these certificates, will this have a negative impact on those who do not? Absolutely not. The websites not having these certificates will still load. However, the browser will give HTTPS the first try and then go back to loading with HTTP.

Here are a few reasons for Google’s HTTPS update:

Keeping our data secure: It is no secret that most users do not type the complete URL while visiting a website since most use HTTPS anyway. This allows Google to assume that people wish to keep their data secure using encryption. Basically, this is Google’s boon to prevent costly data breaches and insecure connections.

Google’s Security Policy: Google strongly believes in maintaining a secure and qualitative website. Apart from this, strong encryption is the most fundamental and crucial aspect leading to safety and security in the cyber world. Google is working towards strong support encryptions in all its products and services ensuring the users safer navigation.

HTTPS used by 95% of websites: People owning websites all over the internet run away from the ugly ’not secure’ display. Be it a customer or the website owner itself, nobody likes it. This led to most websites using an SSL/TLS certificate which meant that they were legit.

Now, this resorted to 95% of websites following the same security measure. Now catering to most websites, it is quite logical for Google to allow HTTPS as a default. This helps websites to improve their conversion rate along with users having safer navigation options.

Summarizing Google Chrome 90 update, in a nutshell, all websites will be automatically loaded in ‘HTTPS’ as a default instead of the previously used ‘HTTP’. This update allows websites to load faster and ensure safe navigation. Websites not supporting ‘Https’ will fall back onto ‘HTTP.

SSL Certificate for IP Address

Https — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 10:45:48 +0000

There are plenty of enterprise use cases where companies need SSL certificates for IP address. Companies use IP addresses to access various types of applications via the internet or intranet. Based on the organization strategies you would want to secure IP addresses with SSL certificates.

In this article, I am going to explain to you the process to get an SSL certificate for an IP address and which type of SSL certificates are good to secure IP addresses.

Also, read The Risk of Self Signed SSL certificates

Now let’s get deeper into the individual subsets to learn further.

SSL certificate for Public IP address

Any IP address that is accessible over the internet is a Public IP address. These are the guidelines and necessities to get an SSL certificate for a public IP address:

1) Your association must prove the ownership of that specific IP address. I.e. the IP address must be only relegated to your association (not to the web hosting company).

2) A certificate authority must have the option to check your IP proprietorship under an IP WHOIS query. Your association name, physical location, telephone number, and email id should appear in the IP WHOIS query.

3) Both Organization Validated Single domain and Organization Validated multi-domain SSL certificates can be utilized for a public IP address.

4) You can compose an IP address in the Common Name (CN) or a Subject Alternative Name (SAN) field (if you have picked a multi-domain SSL).

SSL Certificate for Private IP address:

An internal IP (aka private IP) is an IPv4 or IPv6 address that the IANA has set apart as saved, for example:

Any IPv4 address in the RFC 1918 range (e.g. 10.0.0.0, 172.16.0.0, 192.168.0.0)

Any IPv6 address in the RFC 4193 range

You can’t get an SSL certificate for a private IP address. Being a private IP address is not possible by trusted CAs to validate the IP address’s authenticity to issue one. For instance, a certificate given to 192.168.0.1 would be hypothetically substantial in any specific situation, and this won’t be permitted by a global CA. You can check this complete guide on private IP address

SSL Cert Alternative for internal IP Address

Get ready for running your own enterprise CA – nonetheless, this accompanies the expenses of obtaining, designing, and running your own CA and OCSP administrations.

Utilizing self-signed SSL Certificates – notwithstanding, this is just acceptable in constrained conditions (for example test servers). It instructs clients to overlook significant program alerts that can prompt security issues if they acknowledge self-marked certificates outside of their organization.

How to get an SSL Certificate for an IP address

To get your SSL certificate you can reach out to the existing SSL certificate vendor. Alternatively, you can reach out to a leading SSL certificate provider and we will help you expedite the process to get SSL for your IP address.

List of SSL Certificates for IP Address

Brand	SSL Certificate	Discount
Sectigo	InstantSSL OV SSL Certificate	Up to 73%	Buy Now
Sectigo	PositiveSSL Certificate	Up to 64%	Buy Now

Restriction on SSL Certificate for IP address

On the off chance that you conclude that you truly need an IP in your cert there are explicit stipulations to consider. The greatest obstacle for most people is that the IP address must be explicitly doled out to your organization or association (not your ISP or facilitating supplier) as checked by an IP WHOIS query.

The limitation imposed by Public CAs are;

Open IP tends to just (e.g., 18.236.49.115)
Private IP addresses are not permitted (e.g., 10.0.0.0)
The IP must show your association’s lawful name and area in an IP WHOIS query
Only Organization Validated (OV) certificates can be issued (DV and EV certs can’t be issued)
Single domain and multi-domain certs are allowed.
The IP can be the Common Name (CN) or a Subject Alternative Name (SAN) field

Everything you want to know about Verified Mark Certificates and BIMI Standards

Https — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 10:31:18 +0000

When it comes to information genuineness we tend to trust only renown sources. You know which sources to trust when you are reading information on social media, yes, we are talking about verified accounts on social media. In-order to minimize the continuously exploding phishing frauds in the inbox, Certifying Authorities have taken an initiative to issue verified mark certificates for brands to show their brand logo in the email inbox.

To make this challenging task a reality Google announced full support for the movement. This functionality will use BIMI standards (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) to show the verification mark within email clients.

BIMI provides a secure, global framework enabling email inboxes to display sender-designated logos for authenticated messages. It also includes protections to prevent senders from spoofing logos owned by other organizations

What are the benefits of BIMI?

BIMI offers several important benefits to end users as well as to marketers across the globe.

BIMI can reduce the amount of phishing activities.
It offers improved email security by using existing email authentication technologies like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Provides a great opportunity for every marketers email to get read first because of logo recall.
BIMI increases the confidence in the mind of a recipient as they see a verified logo against the sender name.
What are Verified Mark Certificates ?
Verified Mark Certificates aka VMC is a digital certificate that authenticates your organization to display a logo in the email clients. This allow companies to show verified logo (brand logo) in the sender field of an email clients. VMCs work on the BIMI standards. Below is the representation how your email clients will show your brand logos after implementation of VMC.

Verified Mark Certificate in Action

How to get Verified Mark Certificates?

As of now Google & the BIMI group has not rolled out any specific date of its implementation. As per Google the pilot testing has started and will be made live for all by the end of 2020. An organization would require getting VMCs to show BIMI standard logos.

In case you would like to register for BIMI and want numerous VMC then contact us. We will get back to you with all the relevant details at the earliest.

Everything You Want to Know About SSL PreCertificates.

Https — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 11:42:21 +0000

SSL certificates are widely accepted form of web server certificates to secure data in transit. As we have written much about the SSL certificates, we thought today we should let you know more about the SSL PreCertificates. We understand you may have various questions when it comes to SSL PreCertificates and as listed below, we will try to give you all your answers to it.

Also read our guide on SSL Certificate for IP address.

What are SSL PreCertificates ?

SSL PreCertificates are a type of SSL certificates that are intended to provide proof that an SSL certificate has been logged for embedding certificate transparency (CT) data in a certificate directly. Every Certificate Authority (CA) submits this data to the Log Server as a part of Certificate Transparency (CT). Below is how this works in-conjunction with CT.

SSL PreCertificates

Image Credit: CT

Why are SSL PreCertificates used ?

First thing first, PreCertifiates can not be used as same as SSL Certificates to establish a secure connection. PreCertificates are never shared with the users and always are shared between the CA and the CT log authorities and in case if you have received the PreCertificates, kindly avoid deploying the same on the servers/devices.

The reason behind the issuance of SSL PreCertificates is for CT. It is a method of auditing certificate and maintaining the audit logs of certificate visible to everyone over the internet. Certificate Transparency provides proof if the certificate was issued to the domain by CA. It also makes hard for CAs to issue the certificate without the knowledge of the domain owner the Certificate Transparency aims to remedy certificate-based threats by making the issuance and existence of SSL certificates open to scrutiny by domain owners, Certificate Authorities (CAs), and domain users.

PreCertificates are issued by CAs with a unique extension OID: 1.3.6.1.4.1.11129.2.4.3, and submitted to CT Log and afterward, the CA receives an SCT (Signed Certificate Timestamp) file. This is a file signed by the log which is proof that the certificate was logged.

PreCertificates contain a poison extension and if deployed on the server browser will show a warning; “A certificate contains an unknown extension that is marked critical”. It means the certificate contains an extension which not recognizable by the browser and cannot be used for HTTPS connection or server authentication.

Limitations of SSL PreCertificates

1) PreCertificates make it impossible (or at least very difficult) for a CA to issue an SSL certificate for a domain without the certificate being visible to the owner of that domain.

2) PreCertificates doesn’t provide an open auditing and monitoring system that lets any domain owner or CA determine whether certificates have been mistakenly or maliciously issued.

3) PreCertificates can’t protect users (as much as possible) from being duped by certificates that were mistakenly or maliciously issued.

4) PreCertificates can’t be installed on servers as they are not trusted.

5) PreCertificates doesn’t consist of an SCT parameter which is present in SSL certificates.

6) Mis-issuance of PreCertificates is treated on par with mis-issuance of the final certificates.

7) A PreCertificate is defined with a “poison extension” to the X.509 format. It is named this because it is an extension marked as critical (meaning that if it can’t be correctly parsed the certificate is to be treated as invalid) and was designed to not be supported by client software.

8) When browsers or operating systems encounter this extension they are not understood by them and hence they will be treated as invalid.

9) A PreCertificate, which contains the same data but is formatted a specific way so that it is not treated as a valid SSL certificate.

10) An attacker can steal the relevant data from PreCertificate as its a duplication of real SSL certificate.

The SSL Certificate Validity now will be valid for 13 months in Apple Safari Browser

Https — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 05:55:23 +0000

A big announcement came out on SSL Certificate validity at the face-to-face meeting of the CA/Browser Forum (CA/B Forum) at Bratislava, Slovakia which was held on 19th February. CA/B Forum is the industry standards group which consists of Certificate Authority (CA) and several of the major browsers.

The announcement stated that starting from 1st September 2020 Apple’s Safari browser will trust an SSL/TLS Certificate with the validity of not more than 398 days (which is equivalent to a one-year certificate plus a renewal grace period).

There isn’t any formal posting from Apple about the announcement. But some of the leading Certificate Authority (CA) like DigiCert, Sectigo posted this news on their blog and social sites.

This news is not very much surprising as back in August 2019, CA/B Forum Ballot SC22 was introduced by Google to reduce the SSL Certificate validity period to one year. But the ballot failed in the Forum, which meant certificate maximum lifetimes remained at two years.

So, why did Apple go for shorter SSL Certificate validity and what all things a website owner or resellers must keep in mind?

Learn more on how this new SSL Certificate validity from Apple Safari Browser will affect you as a website owner or an SSL re-seller

Why did Apple decide to enforce shorter SSL Certificate validity?

Apple’s spokesperson said that they decided to enforce a shorter certificate lifetime in order to protect users. Apple clearly wants to avoid an ecosystem that can’t be quickly responded to major certificate related threats.

Shorter certificate validity improves security as it reduces the window of exposure in case any SSL/TLS been compromised. It also helps in correcting normal operational churn within the organizations by ensuring yearly updates to identity like company names, addresses, and active domains. Short certificate validity also ensures that a new key will be generated regularly, which will help in keeping websites more secure.

It is necessary that the certificate users must implement these changes, in order to improve the security of the website with shorter certificate validity.

Why You Should Buy 2 Year SSL Certificate NOW?

Buy the above Offer from Here: Buy Now

Having discussed Apple’s stand to increase the SSL certificate security by reducing the certificate validity. There are other benefits to buy SSL cert for 2 years.

You get more price discount for 2 years contract
Less headache of renewing SSL certificate
No technicalities for SSL installation for straight 2 years.
Completely free technical support assistance for 2 years.
No price fluctuation until the validity of your contract.
& many more…..

Learn more on how this new SSL Certificate validity from Apple Safari Browser will affect you as a website owner or an SSL re-seller

Know how to check the Website’s SSL Certificate Information

Https — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 06:52:23 +0000

A secured website can be identified from the lock symbol on the browser bar. Different browsers have different ways to show this to users. One should be really aware of the benefits of using an SSL certificate for a website.

The cases when users do not pay attention to the lock sign in the browser can lead to unforeseen circumstances. Entering any data to a website not secured with an SSL certificate can lead users to phishing or MITM attacks. At the same time the website owner should also pay close attention to the risk of not securing a website.

Also Read: How to protect yourself from a MITM attack.

There are many cases where reputed websites forgot to renew their SSL certificate which causes man-in-the-middle attacks. Recently, Microsoft team confirmed, it went down for a few hours because of an expired SSL Certificate, during that period people were trying to log in without knowing that it wasn’t secure.

Keeping this mind, I would like to showcase what users should check in order to make sure they are visiting a secure website. CAB forum has made this mandatory to show certificate information to the website users. An SSL certificate deployed successfully shows some relevant information about the URL & the company.

What all things do SSL Certificate Information contains?

Validity Period
Name of Certificate Authority (CA) Issued
Subject Name (that contains information about the company, type of SSL Certificate and domain name for which SSL was issued.)
Key Usage
CRL Information
Signing and Hashing Algorithms Underlying the Encryption.

This information can be found in your browser. The importance of this information may vary from person to person. But it is best practice to check certificate information before entering any data to a website.

Read here for the steps to check SSL Certificate Information.

The Benefits of SSL Certificate for your Website

Https — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 11:24:07 +0000

In this article, we will be focusing on the benefits of SSL Certificate and why SSL is important for your website. How these benefits of SSL Certificate helps businesses in gaining profits and revenue?

As the evolution of the internet has increased at a rapid rate, the growth of the digital world has risen. Now everything from a small pin to a big television is available online. Also, it has given rise to cybercrime and customer data leak.

Just like you need a seat belt while driving a car, a helmet while riding a bike, you need an SSL Certificate for your website.

You may have different questions such as:

– Worth getting an SSL certificate?

– HTTPS is important?

– Is the SSL certificate mandatory?

The answer to all these questions is “Yes”.

Switching from HTTP to HTTPS is confusion with most of the people. As they are not aware of the benefits of the SSL Certificate and the risk of not having an SSL Certificate.

Just 1.9% of the top 1 Million websites are using SSL Certificate, whereas 4.2% of the top 10,000 websites are been secured.

Top 5 benefits of SSL certificate

SSL Protects Customer Data:

In this highly-competitive market, customer data (ID’s, Password, Credit Card, Debit Card details, etc.) is like a diamond for the organization. Hence the organization can’t compromise in terms of customer data security. SSL Certificate secures the data which is in transit between server and browser. In simple words, it keeps the information private and secure. SSL helps in protecting the data from hackers and skimmers by turning them into an undecipherable format.

Protects from Google Warning:

Google with its consent updates has made good with its promise of making the internet a safer place by naming and shaming unencrypted sites (HTTP sites). As on October 17, 2018, Google released Chrome 70, and with it, they have increased their security warnings for sites that are not fully HTTPS secure.

Having an SSL certificate on the website will make your site as HTTPS, which will save you from such harsh warnings from google.

SSL Boost Website SEO Rankings

As we know Google is contently making algorithm updates, in 2014 Google announced HTTPS as Ranking Signal. Deploying an SSL Certificate on to your website will make your site secure and browsers will show trust indicator (Pad Lock) in the address bar.

Such a trust indicator will increase your website traffic and indeed increase your SEO ranking.

Also, Brain Dean in his article mentioned how HTTPS is correlated to Google Ranking.

Below is the graph for the reference, which indicates the ranking of the website who has HTTPS enable (Having SSL certificate).

It is the right time to implement an SSL certificate for your website, as it helps in boosting the SEO ranking of the website. Who doesn’t want to Rank their website Top on Google SERP?