Domain Validated SSL Certificates

Domain Validated SSL Certificates are no-frills, encryption-only certificates. In order to get a Domain Validated SSL Certificate you just have to prove that you own the domain by responding to an email or phone call using the information in the WHOIS record of the domain. It's easy. Your company doesn't have to be validated and no organization name is entered in the certificate. This is good and bad news.

Advantages of Domain Validated SSL Certificates

  • Speed. You can usually get a fully-functioning certificate within minutes. No need to send in company validation documents.
  • Price. Because the process is automated and requires no validation from the certificate authority, these are the cheapest SSL certificates available.

Disadvantages of Domain Validated Certificates

  • Low assurance. Because your company is not validated, these certificates don't help your visitors know who is running your site. If you have an e-commerce site, your potential buyers may be scared off.
  • Less secure. The certificates themselves still enable full, 128-bit encryption but there are other security problems. For one, any phisher can get one and can hide their identity completely. Second, they make man-in-the-middle attacks more dangerous. If an an attacker was able to do some DNS poisoning, he could get a Domain Validated SSL Certificate for your domain and redirect visitors to a fake site that allows him to collect visitor information. Read more about Domain Validated Certificates and DNS vulnerabilities. In summary, domain validated certificates do almost nothing to verify that you are talking to who you think you are talking to.

So when should you use Domain Validated SSL Certificates? They work well in situations where you don't need to assure your visitors or where there is little chance of a man-in-the-middle attack such as on an internal server or on a mail server. If you are sure you want a domain validated certificate, compare the best ones below or use our SSL Wizard to compare SSL certificate features from all providers.

Certificate Name SwissSign's SSL Silver Certificate StartCom's Class 1 Free GlobalSign's DomainSSL GoDaddy's Standard SSL
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Certificate Authority
SwissSign
by Swiss Post
StartCom
GlobalSign
GoDaddy
Certificate Authority Rating
From 3 reviews
From 72 reviews
From 13 reviews
From 28 reviews
Price For 1 Year
$199
$0
$249
$12
Price For 2 Years $349.00 $0.00 $448.00 $25.98
Number of Certificates Included 1 Unlimited certificates for unlimited domains (one domain per certificate) 1 1
Multiple Year Options Up to 5 Years Up to 1 Year Up to 5 Years Up to 10 Years
Domains Secured Single Domain Name (FQDN) Single Domain Name (FQDN) + www SAN Single Domain Name (FQDN) + www SAN Single Domain Name (FQDN) + www SAN
Issuance Speed Within a few minutes Within a few minutes Within a few minutes Within a few minutes
Validation Required Domain Validation Domain Validation Domain Validation Domain Validation
Notification Level in Browsers Domain Name Shown On Certificate Only Domain Name Shown On Certificate Only Domain Name Shown On Certificate Only Domain Name Shown On Certificate Only
Encryption Strength Up to 256-bit Up to 256-bit Up to 256-bit Up to 256-bit
Browser Compatibility Supported on most major browsers (new versions of IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome) Supported on most major browsers (new versions of IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome) 99% 99%
Includes Site Seal Included Included Included Included
Number of Free Reissues Allowed Unlimited until expired 0 Unlimited until expired Unlimited until expired
Server License Unlimited Servers Unlimited Servers Three server licenses included Unlimited Servers
Support Options Phone Free Chat, Phone and E-mail, 24/7 Free phone and email, Mon to Fri - 8am to 6pm EST + limited evening and weekend support Free Phone and Email, 24x7
Support Reviews Read reviews Read reviews Read reviews Read reviews
Free Trial Available No Yes Yes, Valid for 45 days No
Uses Chain Certificates Yes Yes Yes Yes
Refund Policy No refund No refund Full refund within 7 days of issuance Full refund - $15 within 30 days of issuance. No refund after 30 days.
Warranty $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $2,000
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