SSL Certificate - EV vs DV vs OV

Kaldo

Hi all,

I want to get a SSL certificate for my ie domain but I've seen there are different ones. EV SSL - DV SSL - OV SSL. Wikipedia doesn't explain the difference in a way that it's understandable for a NON-IT guy.

I don't expect any IT guy to explain to me the difference. Basically I'd like to know where can I get it, the standard one. Do I need to install it or the supplier takes care of everything?

Thanks

mp3guy

Would be interested in finding out how you get on OP as I'm looking for the same, not sure where to start.

mightyreds

Its basically the validation the cert requestor needs DV being the lowest level of validation only validated at domain level, Ev being the highest they need validation at an organisation level.

For example if you click on a site with DV validation and all you can see is the domain name would you feel comfortable giving your credit card details.
In comparison if you could see the EV level details like location and organisation would you feel more comfortable providing the details.

I think you need to know the difference really before deciding which to have, basically if you have checkout functionally or just a plain static site.

You could purchase one from go daddy, there is free alternatives but i have never used them as i had my site hosted with godaddy so just went with their option.

Here's some free alternatives https://geekflare.com/free-ssl-tls-certificate/

Spocker

DV = Domain validation. You have the ability to "manage" the domain, and can add simple information like a text (TXT) record; essentially this is something that can be validated by another system on the internet: "I asked you to add a random string to your domain information, and you proved you can do that". If you buy an SSL cert from a reseller, such as Blacknight, they typically do this for you

OV = Organization validation. This includes DV above, as well as the reseller finding specific information about the requestor, such as legal entity information - "I found a company record for 'Kaldo Inc.'

EV = Extended validation. Includes both of the above, and a human-to-human conversation (from the SSL certificate authority to an actual person in the organisation requesting the certificate).

The reason for the levels is for the Certificate Authority to stand over the cert that they issue - "We have verified the site behind this certificate has proven they are who they say they are"

Does that explain it?

For easy searching later (from here):

Domain validation (DV)
Main article: Domain-validated certificate
A certificate provider will issue a domain-validated (DV) certificate to a purchaser if the purchaser can demonstrate one vetting criterion: the right to administratively manage the affected DNS domain(s).

Organization validation (OV)
A certificate provider will issue an organization validation (OV) class certificate to a purchaser if the purchaser can meet two criteria: the right to administratively manage the domain name in question, and perhaps, the organization's actual existence as a legal entity. A certificate provider publishes its OV vetting criteria through its certificate policy.

Extended validation (EV)
Main article: Extended Validation Certificate
To acquire an Extended Validation (EV) certificate, the purchaser must persuade the certificate provider of its legal identity, including manual verification checks by a human. As with OV certificates, a certificate provider publishes its EV vetting criteria through its certificate policy.

Kaldo

mightyreds wrote: »

Its basically the validation the cert requestor needs DV being the lowest level of validation only validated at domain level, Ev being the highest they need validation at an organisation level.

For example if you click on a site with DV validation and all you can see is the domain name would you feel comfortable giving your credit card details.
In comparison if you could see the EV level details like location and organisation would you feel more comfortable providing the details.

I think you need to know the difference really before deciding which to have, basically if you have checkout functionally or just a plain static site.

You could purchase one from go daddy, there is free alternatives but i have never used them as i had my site hosted with godaddy so just went with their option.

Here's some free alternatives https://geekflare.com/free-ssl-tls-certificate/

Are the free alternatives, reliable?

degsie

Kaldo wrote: »

Are the free alternatives, reliable?

Free ones are fine or else they wouldn't exist for very long. Often they are short-term so you would have to remember to renew every so often.