Digital revolutions in businesses are becoming more prevalent worldwide. Data that was once locked up in large files is now freely accessible over the internet.
However, that does not imply that it is any less delicate or loses its sense of secrecy.
Strong security measures should be used to secure any data that contains private information or financial information in particular.
That’s where SSL comes into play. In 2021, more than 46 million websites will utilize SSL by default.
SSL technology has become the de facto standard for encryption and authentication in today’s online world. Therefore, a vast majority of websites utilize SSL certificates.
SSL is a well-known security standard that enables you to protect online transactions by validating SSL security certificates.
Check SSL certificates issued by the website user are attempting to access to quickly determine if the connection is safe.
It is advised that only connect to and provide data to websites that have an SSL certificate as a best practice.
One should exercise caution when clicking on such insecure links and websites because the lack of an SSL certificate should obviously suggest a less trustworthy site.
What is an SSL Certificate?
SSL certificates are tiny pieces of data that are linked to a website and show that the SSL security feature has been enabled on the website.
The security protocol known as SSL, or Secure Socket Layer, establishes an encryption standard based on the public/private key method.
The SSL certificate serves as the public key for the website and verifies its identity and content to establish its legitimacy.
Any device or API request attempting to visit the site must refer to the public key to confirm the site’s identity, while the private key is kept safe and secure.
Only legitimate Certificate Authorities (CAs) are authorized to provide SSL certificates.
SSL certificates are also used with the TLS protocol, which is an upgraded security protocol utilized in SSL by most current browsers and websites.
Each and every connection to a website that supports TLS/SSL is secured. Without the correct authorization, anybody attempting to visit the site will be blocked and only be able to intercept values that have been corrupted.
Different SSL Certificate Types
SSL certificates are classified as follows based on the domains:
- Single domain: The SSL certificate’s scope is limited to a single domain name.
- Wildcard – The form of SSL certificate is suitable for a single domain and can also be included for usage in subdomains. Take blog.Site.com as an example.
- Multi-domain – The SSL certificates can be applied to several unrelated domains.
Different levels of validation may also be attached to each SSL certificate. Based on the level of validation, SSL certificates are classified into many categories:
- Validation at the domain level: This SSL validation only pertains to the domain name, and the business is required to substantiate its ownership of the domain name.
- Organization SSL validation: These are more reliable since the certifying authority (CA) will get in touch with the company directly to provide the SSL certificate.
- Extended validation: Before granting the SSL certificate, the CA does a more comprehensive procedure and background check.
How to Check SSL Certificates?
One can check SSL Certificates to learn if the website is secured by SSL encryption. Checking a site’s URL if it starts with HTTPs or not helps identify if the website is SSL secured.
Users may click on the padlock symbol next to the URL bar to get additional information about the site’s security credentials and check SSL certificate data.
Where on the server can one check SSL certificates?
The procedures listed below can be used to examine extensive SSL information on common browsers like Chrome and Firefox:
- In the address bar of the browser, click the padlock symbol.
- Click on the certificate pop-up to view the SSL certificate’s information, including its validity period and expiration date.
- If the SSL certificate has extended validation, further details, such as the organization’s identity information, will be shown. For other types of certificates, the certifying authority’s information is only available at the bottom area of the pop-up.
- People may select “More Information” to acquire more specific information about the SSL certificate. When one clicks, they are taken to the website that contains more exact information about the certificate.
Recommend 6 Best SSL Checkers
To make sure that the website is always secure for visitors, it is crucial to check SSL certificate status and the expiration date.
1. SolarWinds Pingdom (FREE TRIAL)
Website users may use SolarWinds Pingdom, a website monitoring tool, to continually check SSL certificates.
Key characteristics:
- Monitoring of SSL certificates continuously
- Time tracking
- Alerts Dashboard
2. Acunetix
Acunetix is an online vulnerability scanner that will alert you when the TLS or SSL certificate is about to expire.
Key characteristics:
- TLS/SSL certificate monitoring
- 7,000+ vulnerabilities should be found
- Dashboard
- Compliance statistics
- Integrations
3. Site 24×7
One may continually monitor SSL and TLS certificates using the infrastructure monitoring tool Site 24×7.
Key characteristics:
- Dashboard to check SSL certificates continuously
- Expiration notices
- SSL certificates’ level of vulnerability
4. OpenSSL
You may type instructions into the command line and inspect and validate SSL certificates using the open-source software toolkit and library known as OpenSSL.
Key characteristics:
- Inspect SSL certificates
- Check the certificate’s issuer
- Verify the expiry date on the certificate
5. TrackSSL
One may watch domains and find out when the SSL certificate expires with TrackSSL, an online SSL certificate monitoring service.
Key characteristics:
- Keep track of SSL certificates
- Expiration notices
- Integration with Slack
6. Comodo SSL Checker
With the help of the Comodo SSL Checker, you can determine whether your website is using an SSL certificate that is deployed and valid online.
Key characteristics:
- SSL certificate view
- Check the date that your SSL certificate expires.
- Make sure the major web browsers trust you.
It is crucial to check SSL certificate, make sure it is confirmed, and remove it after the expiration date has passed. However, the related procedure is quite time-consuming and requires technical expertise.
Businesses need not worry since Exabytes SSL certificate services provider is here to help.
Contact Exabytes to find out more and to discover the benefits of a SSL Certificate.
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