{"id":5592,"date":"2019-05-01T21:48:29","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T05:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/blog\/?p=5592"},"modified":"2021-08-18T03:51:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T11:51:46","slug":"ssl-certificates-from-trusted-root-certificate-authorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/blog\/ssl-certificates-from-trusted-root-certificate-authorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Why choose SSL Certificates From Trusted Root Certificate Authorities?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why You Need An SSL Signed By A Trusted Root Certificate<\/h2>\n

When you visit an HTTPS website, your web browser will check the website\u2019s SSL certificate to see if it\u2019s trusted. This is a critically important step, as this confirms that you\u2019re connected to the correct website (not, for example, a hacker pretending to be amazon.com).<\/p>\n

How does my web browser verify a website\u2019s SSL certificate?<\/h2>\n

Your web browser will verify the website\u2019s SSL certificate with the Root Certificate Authority<\/strong> that issued the certificate. If the SSL certificate was not issued by a trusted root certificate authority<\/strong>, your browser won\u2019t be able to verify it, and you\u2019ll get an error message like this:<\/p>\n

\"Your<\/p>\n

What is a Trusted Root Certification Authority?<\/h2>\n

How does your computer know which root certificate authorities<\/strong> to trust and which not to trust? That\u2019s where root certificates and the trusted root store come into play.<\/p>\n

Since your web browser can\u2019t individually verify websites, they trust certain companies, called certificate authorities, to verify individual websites. Your browser uses what\u2019s called a \u201croot store\u201d, which is basically a list of the companies that are trusted to verify websites and issue certificates. There\u2019s actually a root store on your computer that looks like this:<\/p>\n

\"Trusted<\/p>\n

Your web browser uses this root store to validate the SSL certificate of each HTTPS website you visit.<\/p>\n

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Shop Thawte SSL Certificates<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Why is it important to get an SSL certificate from a trusted root CA?<\/h2>\n

Very simple: if you use a self-signed certificate or an SSL certificate from an untrusted root, your website will display a big red error message like in the screenshot shown above.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a great way to scare visitors away.<\/p>\n

If you get an SSL certificate from a trusted root CA<\/strong>, though, your website can look like this:<\/p>\n

\"HTTPS<\/p>\n

How to tell which trusted root issued a website\u2019s SSL certificate<\/h2>\n

In Google Chrome, click the padlock icon next to the website URL, then click Certificate. Then click Certification Path. The name listed at the top is the Root Certificate, in this case it\u2019s DigiCert:<\/p>\n

\"Root<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll notice that there are three certificates listed, and the website certificate isn\u2019t signed directly by the trusted root certificate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In order to maintain the highest security standards, the Root Certificate is safely retained with the respective Root Certificate Authority and an intermediate certificate is used. After being signed by the root certificate, the Intermediate Certificate is then utilized by the Certificate Authority to validate the website\u2019s certificate, (also known as the SSL Certificate) which is then ultimately provided to the client to display on the website. This chain of trust is maintained strictly in order to ensure heightened safety and security levels, so, in case of a breach of a security, the root certificate remains unscathed.<\/p>\n

Buy Cheap Wildcard SSL Certificates<\/a><\/p>\n

Example of an SSL Certificate chain<\/h2>\n

In the example above, you can see that CheapSSLsecurity.com is using a GeoTrust EV SSL certificate:<\/p>\n