SSL Certificate Questions - General

DigiCert SSL Certificates FAQ

General Questions about DigiCert Digital Certificates

• Are DigiCert SSL Certificates automatically trusted by browsers?
• How does a Wildcard SSL Certificate Work?
• What is a 'Scalable SSL Certificate'?
• What is a 'Site Seal'?
• Will DigiCert Digital Certificates work with my server(s)?
• Why is Authentication and Validation so Important?

Are DigiCert ssl certificates automatically trusted by browsers?

Yes! DigiCert ssl certificates are automatically trusted in all of today's common browsers including all Internet Explorer 5.01 and above, Netscape 4x and above, AOL 5 and above, Opera 5 and above, Safari, and Mozilla based browsers such as Firefox.

How does a Wildcard Certificate Work?

Our DigiCert SSL Wildcard Certificate provides SSL protection for unlimited first-level sub-domains of the domain name you specify in your Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

For example, if you hosted www.your_domain.com, a DigiCert SSL Wildcard Certificate for *.your_domain.com would allow you to secure Unlimited First-Level Subdomains such as:

www.your_domain.com
mail.your_domain.com
admin.your_domain.com
sales.your_domain.com
europe.your_domain.com
anything.your_domain.com

The * character in the common name is the wildcard character. It can take on any first-level subdomain name. The value assumed by the * character must not have a period or 'dot' in it. This is why we say that the Wildcard Certificate will cover unlimited first-level subdomains.

The Wildcard Certificate comes with an unlimited server license. This means that you can install the certificate to as many different server machines as you want at no extra cost. The naming scheme requirement described above remains the same for the additional servers.

What is a 'Scalable SSL Certificate'?

Scalable certificates offer a range of encryption bit length. DigiCert Digital Certificates are, by default, 256 Bits in encryption strength. However, some older web browsers only support an encryption length of 40 bits. Rather than force those customers to upgrade their browsers, the DigiCert certificate scales down to 40 bits, thus offering the customer the maximum strength they can support.

What is a 'Site Seal'?

A DigiCert Site Seal is offered FREE ($79 Value) when you purchase a DigiCert SSL certificate, this Site Seal provides a stamp of legitimacy on your site. It provides a dynamic proof that DigiCert has verified your business or organization.

Will DigiCert Digital SSL Certificates work with my server(s)?

Digicert Certificates are standard x509 certificates and they are fully compatible with all common server platforms including all Windows servers, Apache servers, Novell servers, Tomcat Servers, and many, many more.

Why is Authentication and Validation so Important?

SSL Certificates are not only used for encryption, but it also shows that a Certificate Authority has verified your company. In this way, the certificate also works as verification of your business. When a Certificate Authority gives out SSL certificates like candy, the Internet becomes an unsafe place with high fraud risks. Before DigiCert issues a certificate, we verify the organizational details of the entity that applied for the certificate. Through this vetting process we build confidence in your customers and we make the Internet a safer place for everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions about DigiCert SSL Certificates

Important questions regarding SSL Digital Certificates.