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SSL Cert Information

What is an SSL certificate?

An SSL certificate displays important information for verifying the owner of a website and encrypting web traffic with SSL/TLS, including the public key, the issuer of the certificate, and the associated subdomains.

SSL Certificate showing secure version of https://

SSL certificates are what enable websites to use HTTPS, which is more secure than HTTP. An SSL certificate is a data file hosted in a website’s origin server. SSL certificates make SSL/TLS encryption possible, and they contain the website’s public key and the website’s identity, along with related information.

Devices attempting to communicate with the origin server will reference this file to obtain the public key and verify the server’s identity. The private key is kept secret and secure.

What is SSL?

SSL, more commonly called TLS, is a protocol for encrypting Internet traffic and verifying server identity. Any website with an HTTPS web address uses SSL/TLS.

How do SSL certificates work?

SSL certificates include the following information in a single data file:

  • The domain name that the certificate was issued for
  • Which person, organization, or device it was issued to
  • Which certificate authority issued it
  • The certificate authority’s digital signature
  • Associated subdomains
  • Issue date of the certificate
  • Expiration date of the certificate
  • The public key (the private key is kept secret)


The public and private keys used for SSL are essentially long strings of characters used for encrypting and signing data. Data encrypted with the public key can only be decrypted with the private key.

The certificate is hosted on a website’s origin server, and is sent to any devices that request to load the website. Most browsers enable users to view the SSL certificate: in Chrome, this can be done by clicking on the padlock icon on the left side of the URL bar.

Why do websites need an SSL certificate?

A website needs an SSL certificate in order to keep user data secure, verify ownership of the website, prevent attackers from creating a fake version of the site, and gain user trust.

Encryption: SSL/TLS encryption is possible because of the public-private key pairing that SSL certificates facilitate. Clients (such as web browsers) get the public key necessary to open a TLS connection from a server’s SSL certificate.

Authentication: SSL certificates verify that a client is talking to the correct server that actually owns the domain. This helps prevent domain spoofing and other kinds of attacks.

HTTPS: Most crucially for businesses, an SSL certificate is necessary for an HTTPS web address. HTTPS is the secure form of HTTP, and HTTPS websites are websites that have their traffic encrypted by SSL/TLS.

In addition to securing user data in transit, HTTPS makes sites more trustworthy from a user’s perspective. Many users won’t notice the difference between an http:// and an https:// web address, but most browsers tag HTTP sites as “not secure” in noticeable ways, attempting to provide incentive for switching to HTTPS and increasing security.

ssl certificate not secure browsing

How does a website obtain an SSL certificate?

For an SSL certificate to be valid, domains need to obtain it from a certificate authority (CA). A CA is an outside organization, a trusted third party, that generates and gives out SSL certificates. The CA will also digitally sign the certificate with their own private key, allowing client devices to verify it. Most, but not all, CAs will charge a fee for issuing an SSL certificate.

Once the certificate is issued, it needs to be installed and activated on the website’s origin server. Web hosting services can usually handle this for website operators. Once it’s activated on the origin server, the website will be able to load over HTTPS and all traffic to and from the website will be encrypted and secure.

What is a self-signed SSL certificate?

Technically, anyone can create their own SSL certificate by generating a public-private key pairing and including all the information mentioned above. Such certificates are called self-signed certificates because the digital signature used, instead of being from a CA, would be the website’s own private key.

But with self-signed certificates, there’s no outside authority to verify that the origin server is who it claims to be. Browsers don’t consider self-signed certificates trustworthy and may still mark sites with one as “not secure,” despite the https:// URL. They may also terminate the connection altogether, blocking the website from loading.

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What is a VPN you ask - Virtual Private Network

"So what exactly is a VPN?"

Get more from the Internet—especially privacy, anonymity and safety—by using an IPVanish VPN before you do anything online!

Who doesn’t love the Internet? It delivers information, answers, entertainment and connections to you, on demand, in seconds.

From anywhere and at any time from our desktop computers, laptops, smartphone and tablets.

It’s a life-saver for students of all ages, moms, businesses, organizations…everyone.

But the Internet is not perfect. It has some built-in flaws that make you vulnerable when you’re online. You should know that, because hackers, government and other snoopers and advertisers take full advantage of it.

A VPN changes that for you!

But you can make the Internet safer, more secure and definitely more private with the help of a VPN…a virtual private network.

You’ve probably been hearing more and more about VPNs for home use and travel. That’s because it’s more important than ever to be smarter and safer while you’re on the Internet.

More than that, don’t you want to go on the Internet without being tracked, monitored, and identified…without your knowledge? In today’s world, that freedom is getting harder to find.

A VPN…described.

Here’s a quick, helpful definition…and about all you need to know about a VPN.

  • An IPVanish VPN is a service that you sign up for online for a small monthly charge
  • Once you have an account, your VPN service should be “on” when you’re online
  • An IPVanish VPN, in action, takes your Internet connection and makes it more secure, helps you stay anonymous and helps you get around blocks and access censored sites.
  • The key to an IPVanish VPN is that it lends you a temporary IP address and hides your true IP address from every website or email you connect with

It’s Virtual…because it’s as if you have a private connection directly to any website or another computer you connect to.

It’s Private…because all your website visits and online activity is between you and the websites you visit.

It’s a Network…because you’re using a special network of VPN servers that covers the entire globe.

Your IP address is a potential problem. You may want to hide it.

Your IP address is a behind-the-scenes number your Internet provider assigns your computer that allows you to go anywhere on the Internet. It’s something like the house number on your home.

That’s the good news. The somewhat “bad” news is that your IP address also gives away your computing location, at home or on the road. That bothers a lot of computer users.

Why?

Because governments have tracked people down by their IP address, with the help of the person’s Internet Service Provider.

Also, online businesses of all kinds monitor activity coming from IP addresses. They may not know your name, but they know you like their website.

Online companies and networks can (and do) restrict someone’s access to a website based on where the user is located. Guess how they know where the user is? Right…the user’s IP address.

Finally, hackers can break into networks and sometimes take over devices through its IP address.

As hard as IT experts, Internet providers and technology companies try, the Internet is not as safe or private as you wish it should be.

As you can see, we don’t have nearly enough privacy, or security, as we’d like.

A virtual private network levels the playing field.

However, when you go online using an IPVanish VPN account, you tilt the scales in your favor. An IPVanish VPN account can instantly and continuously provide…

  • More privacy. Your connections cannot be linked to your computer…and you. You can visit any website and your ISP doesn’t know where you’ve been.
  • More security. VPN connections are super secure. The network is hack proof and all of your Internet activity is encrypted (coded) and unreadable in transit.
  • More website access. No more blocks or censorship. They can’t prevent from getting to websites based an IP address.
  • More anonymity. Your true IP address is hidden! You’re unidentifiable online because you’re constantly using a different IP address, never your own. In fact, it typically looks as if you’re in a different part of the world from where you really are.

Here’s the best part. Everything else about your Internet experience stays virtually the same.

But you will have so much more going for you.

Remember, you don’t need to switch the Internet Provider Service you use at home or the office to connect to the Internet.

You also don’t need to buy any new equipment, like a modem or router, or hire some squad of geeks to hook you up to anything.

It’s all done online. In minutes.

The more you know about the Internet, you’ll realize that using a VPN such as IPVanish is a smart idea.

The above information comes from whatismyipaddress.com