Information on Merchant Accounts,
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May 22nd, 2006 by Jamie Estep

Verisign SSL – A Review

Filed in: Ecommerce | 1 comment

We recent upgraded our SSL certificate to a Verisign certificate from Geocerts. I have purchased SSL certificates from several different companies over the years, and I must say that the Verisign process is something different.

One of the main reasons people use Verisign for a SSL certificate is that they are very well trusted and you get to display a Verisign logo on your website. This is also one of the main reasons that we installed the certificate, trust. As far as SSL certificates go, 128 Bit encryption is the same whether you issue the certificate on your own server, or Verisign issues it to you.

The Verisign Process:
In this case we opted for the most basic Class 3 certificate that Verisign offers. The initial process of applying for the certificate was easy enough. Generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) on your own web server, fill out a few information forms on the Verisign website, pay a small fortune, and hit the process button. Once the charge is completed, Verisign goes to work on validating your business and then generating your certificate.

Coming from always using instant SSL certificates, I thought the certificate would arrive in my email in about 10 minutes. I did know that Verisign had a business verification process, but I had no idea how involved it really was. Verisign checks several things to verify that your business exists, and you are who you say you are. First, your domain registration is checked to ensure it matches your business information. Next, they check phone directories to ensure that your listed phone number is registered to the company, and is a listed number. Lastly, they check to ensure that your business actually exists, and is legally registered. Only when you have meet all of their verification, will they issue a certificate.

I personally though that we had all of our ducks in a row, but I had to fax Verisign about 5 different documents before we were fully validated. After the faxes and about two days of being verified we were issued the certificate.

Overall the process was fairly smooth, and the ease of getting setup is directly dependent on having your domain name registered to your exact business name, having your business’ contact number as a listed number in phone directories, and having your business legally registered.

I will post in a few months, whether I think the certificate is worth the extra cost. We track our sales very carefully, and should have an accurate model to the any increased or decreased sales within a few months.

One Response to “Verisign SSL – A Review”

  1. Philip Coogan June 15, 2009 at 6:22 am

    Am I now signed into Verisign.
    until payment is made.
    Please tell me the purchase price of the seal etc. regards Philip