There are different kinds of SSL certificates, and the one you choose will often depend on the needs of your organization. However, because each type of certificate provides different levels of assurance regarding the identity of the business, you may want to opt for either an organizationally validated certificate or an extended validation because they may enhance the trust visitors have in your site and company.

To obtain a domain-validated certificate, the CA merely sends an email to the email address the website has registered. This serves to confirm the identity of the site. However, a domain-validated certificate does not require any information about the business, so it offers the lowest level of security when compared to the other two types.

Before issuing an organizationally validated certificate, the certificate authority needs to obtain a few details about the organization. These include where it is physically located and its domain name. This may take a few days. If your site does not deal with highly sensitive information, an OV may be sufficient.

An extended validation certificate is not issued until the CA has performed a thorough review of the business applying for it. The review process may include elements such as:

1. Documents verifying the identity of the applicant
2. Corporate documents of the business

Also, the information is checked against information provided by an independent third party, which serves to confirm its validity.

Here are five things you can do to make sure you have a safe online session, particularly with transactions that may involve sensitive data:

1. Check any shopping site for trust indicators: These are badges or logos that attest to the fact that a site meets high security standards. Knowing what they look like is a good first step to safety.
2. Read seller privacy policies carefully: Your personal information can be used in a number of ways, so it is best to read privacy policies before engaging in a transaction.
3. Check the kind of SSL certificate the website has: As mentioned, there are three types of SSL certificates: DV, OV, and EV, with EV being the most stringent.
4. Know what an unsafe site looks like: If you see warning signs, pop-ups, exclamation marks, or redirects, you should be especially careful.
5. Use cybersecurity tools: By using tools such as anti-malware or a virtual private network (VPN), you get an extra layer of protection against threats, regardless of the kind of site you are visiting.

What is SSL certificate used for? Whenever your browser tries to access a site that has SSL security, an SSL handshake happens. This refers to the nearly instantaneous exchange of information involving three keys: a public key, a private key, and a session key. These keys are used to encrypt information. Any data encrypted by the public key has to be decrypted by the private key, and the reverse applies to data encrypted with the private key—it needs to be decrypted by the public key.

What does an SSL certificate do? The initial interaction between your browser and the site involves using the public and private keys. These are used to generate the session key, which is what encrypts the rest of the data that gets transmitted between your browser and the site, creating a secure session as long as you are connected.

The SSL certificate definition states that an SSL certificate ensures sites can interact with your browser through safer, encrypted transmissions. So how can you tell if the page has an SSL certificate for websites? There are a few different things you can do to be sure:

1. Check the beginning of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL): If it starts with HTTPS, it has an SSL certificate. But if it starts with HTTP, it does not.
2. Look for a closed padlock in the address bar: If you see a closed padlock at the beginning of the address bar, the site is secure.
3. Pay attention to the warning signs your browser issues: If you use an open padlock, as opposed to a closed one, the site is not secured by SSL. Also if the padlock is red, if there is a line drawn through the site address, or if you see a warning triangle over the padlock, the site has not been secured.

What is an SSL certificate in the context of how it benefits enterprises? Even though an SSL certificate can benefit an enterprise in many ways, here are the top five advantages:

1. SSL protects your data because all information going to and from your website gets encrypted, including sensitive data, such as credit card numbers.
2. Having an SSL certificate can  improve your search ranking because Google favors websites enabled with HTTPS.
3. Having SSL gives others confidence in the identity and authenticity of your business because a certificate authority verifies you are who you say you are.
4. SSL makes it easier for customers to trust you because they know their information is safe.
5. SSL makes it possible to meet the requirements of PCI/DSS, specifically because an SSL certificate is mandatory to meet PCI/DSS standards.

Even though both SSL and Transport Layer Security (TLS) make your website more secure, there are some key differences. Some people consider TLS more reliable than SSL because it uses more secure cipher suites, which are different kinds of encryption. Also, TLS is more widely used due to many people considering it an upgrade from SSL.

Despite its benefits, SSL also has some limitations. For instance:

1. SSL comes with a cost because your provider has to set up a system for validating your identity, which takes time and effort on their part.
2. Your site’s performance may suffer because SSL has to run data through the encryption process, which requires server resources.
3. SSL is considered by many to be less effective than TLS because it uses the Fortezza algorithm, which some view as less secure.