Tag Archives: Wildcard SSL

Where Can I Buy a Wildcard SSL Certificate at a Low Cost?

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Let’s take a look at where to buy wildcard SSL certificates at a low cost and which are right for you

We all want to get the most bang for our buck, and when we buy an SSL certificate, it’s no different. It’s easy to think that wildcard SSL certificates are pricey due to their immense features and benefits, but there are some pretty affordable options out there. When vetting the market, one thing to keep in mind is that while you do want the most bang for your buck — you want to make sure you’re getting the right type of bang with it.

In this article, we’ll look out a couple of your most notable options, where to find them, and their pros and cons of each.

For those of you who prefer to skip right to shopping for extremely affordable wildcard SSL certificates, we’ve got you covered! As a global SSL leader, we provide cheap SSL certificates to a wide range of websites and businesses throughout the world.

Save Up to 71% on Wildcard SSL Certificates

Securing all of your single-level subdomains doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Get Wildcard SSL certificates starting for as little as $118.36 per year!

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Making Sure a Wildcard SSL Certificate Is Right for You

Graphic: how a wildcard ssl certificate works

Before we jump into where you can buy wildcard SSL certificates at a low cost and how they differ from brand to brand, let’s make sure you’re making the right call with purchasing one in the first place.

A wildcard SSL certificate secures an unlimited number of subdomains. This offers convenience due to the fact you can add as many subdomain variations to your website as you want without a limit. Another benefit is that managing a wildcard SSL certificate is much easier because you can renew, re-issue, etc. your single certificate and the changes cover all your subdomains.

So, these types of certificates are perfect for the admin who plans to build out many subdomains — whether it be a blog or sections for different types of brands. If you don’t plan to do this, you may want to consider other SSL options.

One thing to keep in mind is that a single wildcard SSL certificate doesn’t cover second-level subdomains, third-level subdomains, etc. A second level subdomain is when you add another subdomain in front of your existing subdomain e.g. dogs.petblog.pets.com. In this example, “dogs” would be your second-level subdomain.

RapidSSLonline.com Is Where You Can Buy a Wildcard SSL Certificate at a Low Cost

If you’re looking for inexpensive yet effective, RapidSSLonline.com is an excellent choice. You get a well-rounded experience with a wide range of affordable wildcard SSL certificate options. Some of the highlights of shopping on RapidSSLonline.com include:

  • Savings ranging from anywhere between 45%-71%
  • Choices of certificates from four globally recognized brands
  • 24/7 support via phone, email, and web
  • 30-day, 100% money back guarantee
  • Liability protection with warranties ranging from $10,000 to up to $1.5 million

When shopping on RapidSSLonline.com, you’ll come across a lot of good options. To give you some direction, we’ve complied a short list of some of the most popular types of wildcard SSL certificates and a few tidbits on each item:  

  1. RapidSSL Wildcard Certificate— One of the cheapest wildcard SSL certificates. A simple and effective solution.
  2. GeoTrust QuickSSL Premium Wildcard — Issuance only takes a few minutes  and this certificate carries the respected GeoTrust brand.
  3. GeoTrust True BusinessID Wildcard — An ideal solution if you need to secure multiple fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) that share the same base domain name.

Looking at Free Wildcard SSL Certificates as an Option

If you’re looking for low cost, there is nothing more low cost than free. Let’s Encrypt is the most notable free SSL brand. With a Let’s Encrypt wildcard SSL certificate, you can offer an HTTPS secure, encrypted connection to all your users. It’s a quick and easy option. However, there are a few concerns with free SSL certificates you should be aware of:

  • Lack of support. They offer no customer support or guidance in a rather complex industry. You just have a bunch of documents and web forums to scroll through for help.
  • No warranties. They do not offer liability protection, which means if something goes wrong, you and your users are on your own (no warranty or financial assistance).
  • Prone to use in phishing attacks. Cybercriminals are known to utilize free SSL certificates to help pull off phishing attacks (a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information) because the validation process to obtain a free SSL certificate is quite shallow and there is no monetary risk by the cybercriminal due the certs being free.
  • No authentication or identity. This may deter customers who are looking for a higher label of trust when interacting with websites.

Many of the concerns attached with free wildcard SSL certs, such as a lack of liability protection, support, and trust, are some of our most notable strengths. With all those concerns, one can argue that free is good but quality and affordability are better.

So, if you’re looking for a safe and secure experience, and you’re committed to securing your users’ data while increasing trust, purchase a wildcard SSL certificate at an affordable cost with RapidSSLonline.com today!

How to Renew an SSL Certificate – The Ultimate Guide

What’s the Best OV Wildcard SSL Certificate for My Website?

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With so many OV wildcard SSL options on the market, here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing one for your site

What’s the best OV wildcard SSL option for your business?

Truthfully, the answer’s going to depend on your organization and its specific needs. Your definition of what would be considered the “best” organization validation wildcard SSL certificate is likely going to differ from someone else’s. After all, every business has different needs.

But there is one thing that’s universally true: It’s essential to choose an OV wildcard SSL certificate from an industry-trusted and reputable certificate authority (CA). Luckily for you, RapidSSLonline.com sells OV wildcard SSL certificates from the most trusted CAs in the industry — Symantec, GeoTrust, and Thawte.

Choosing by Certificate Authority

In the SSL industry, there are many notable certificate authorities. But how do you choose between them? You need to do your research to see what differences, if any, there are between the different brands. With some CAs, the higher price tags are attributed solely to the “brand name.” It’s much like buying something Versace — you’re buying the fancy name. For others, the price boils down to the benefits that each certificate offers.

Save Up to 46% on a Thawte OV Wildcard!

Protect your website and an unlimited number of single-level subdomains with a Thawte OV Wildcard SSL certificate.

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Choosing by Features or Extra Benefits

Every OV wildcard SSL certificate is going to perform the same functions on a basic level: They’re going to secure your domain (both the WWW and non-WWW versions) and an unlimited number of subdomains on a single level. This means a wildcard secures all of the following:

  • www.yourdomain.com
  • yourdomain.com
  • mail.yourdomain.com  
  • login.yourdomain.com
  • products.yourdomain.com

However, commercial OV wildcard SSL certificates from some brands will also come with a bunch of great “gimmes” — site seals, warranties, customer support, and even refund options. For example, at RapidSSLonline.com, we offer GeoTrust True BusinessID Wildcards and Thawte Wildcard Certificates (OV) — both of which come with $1.25 million warranties and dynamic site seals. Both certificates also come with:

  • unlimited reissuances,
  • unlimited server licenses,
  • 24/7 live support, and
  • 30-day money back guarantees.

So, how do you choose? For some, it comes down to the price.

Choosing by Price

Using a wildcard SSL certificate to secure your domain and single-level subdomains can save you a lot of money, time, and frustration in the long run. You only need to buy one certificate (rather than buying a certificate for each subdomain individually), and you don’t have to worry about managing multiple certificates.

This is a significant advantage for businesses that run hundreds or even thousands of subdomains — the certificate management benefit alone makes an OV wildcard SSL certificate worthwhile!

Luckily, there’s an OV wildcard SSL certificate that meets every budget. For example, the Thawte Wildcard starts as low as $323.46 per year. The GeoTrust True BusinessID Wildcard starts at $359.40 per year.

Save Up to 40% on a GeoTrust OV Wildcard!

Protect your website and an unlimited number of single-level subdomains with a GeoTrust True BusinessID OV Wildcard SSL certificate.

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Wildcard EV SSL Certificates — Are They Possible?

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Here’s why finding a Wildcard EV SSL certificate is as elusive as unicorns and Big Foot

Throughout history, explorers have searched for lands and creatures described in epic proportions in mythology. Everything from Sir Walter Raleigh’s search for El Dorado, the lost city of gold, to Ponce de Leon’s quest for the Fountain of Youth.

This quest is much the same for customers who seek extended validation (EV) wildcard SSL certificates. Customers come to us all the time on their misguided quest to find the “elusive” wildcard EV SSL certificates. They want to activate the green web address bar with ease across multiple subdomains — an ability that would be ideal for any business. But why are these EV wildcard certificates so hard to find?

To put it simply: because they don’t exist. (But there is a solution that accomplishes the same goal, which we’ll cover shortly.)

Why an Extended Validation Wildcard Certificate Isn’t Possible

Graphic: EV multi-domain wildcards elusive as unicorns

Since you’re here, looking for a wildcard EV SSL certificate, we’re going to assume that you are already familiar with what a wildcard SSL certificate is used for: securing multiple subdomains. However, the very same properties that make a wildcard SSL certificate so great are also the same ones that create security concerns. Not following? Let us explain.

The extended validation guidelines outlined by the Certificate Authority/Browser Forum (CA/B Forum) prohibit the use of extended validation for wildcard certificates. This is because every EV SSL certificate that’s issued requires careful, in-depth vetting of the organization that’s trying to obtain it. This aims to ensure that certificates are not fraudulently issued or misused after issuance by validating that every web address that an EV SSL certificate is assigned is legitimate. For a certificate to be issued by a trusted and reputable certificate authority (CA), the organization must satisfy all of the requirements outlined by the CA/B Forum.  

Wildcard EV SSL Certificates Would Create Security Concerns

Wildcard certificates undermine the very purpose of extended validation. So, as you can see, it’s not that we just don’t want to sell EV wildcard SSL certificates to you — it’s that we can’t. Not to mention, we wouldn’t be doing you or your customers any favors if we did!

After all, any qualifying subdomains that would be covered under wildcard certificates issued at the EV level would receive an EV security indicator without undergoing the rigorous scrutiny of the EV validation process. This creates an opportunity for a single compromised subdomain to be exploited as a phishing attack vector by cybercriminals — all with the EV security indicator leading customers to believe the site is safe.

Talk about finding one of the fastest routes to undermine customers’ trust in your site and organization as a whole. This tactic could lead to data breaches, identity fraud issues, and a variety of other PR nightmares.

I Still Need to Secure Multiple Subdomains — So, What’s the Solution?

We hear you. Although no certificate authority can issue EV wildcards, you still need a solution to your website security issue. The good news is that there’s something that you can purchase that will work…

Save Up to 39% on a GeoTrust Multi-Domain EV SSL Certificate

Need to secure multiple domains with extended validation to get the green address bar? We’ve got you covered with a multi-domain SSL certificate.

Browse All of Our EV SSL Certificates

Get the Green Address Bar on Multiple Subdomains with a Multi-Domain EV SSL Certificate

Need to secure multiple subdomains with extended validation? We’ve got you covered with a multi-domain SSL certificate.

When you use an EV multi-domain SSL certificate, you can list each domain and subdomain as individual SANs, or Subject Alternative Name domains.

Forget about mythical solutions like wildcard EV SSL certificates. This real-world workaround will enable you to secure each of your domains and subdomains with the EV security indicators and green address bar you desire — all while remaining compliant with CA/B Forum guidelines.