UsefulConcept

Yesterday I was tasked with getting an SSL certificate for our web site. I haven't done this in a few years. I used Verisign a long time ago, and then went to Thawte. What I remembered from doing that is that it was a pain in the butt. Usually took at least a few days, involved faxes, confirming phone numbers, federal ID tax numbers and usually one bit of lost paperwork.

This time I opted to see if there were any new players in the market. I found GoDaddy sold certs for 19.99. That sounded way too good to be true, and it turns out there was a catch. The cert required some extra installation and wasn't supported (reportedly) on some mac browsers. Based on the reviews I read I opted to not try.

I then found RapidSSL. Their cert is single root (unlike the inexpensive godaddy), so there is just the regular install on your web server. It is supported by all modern browsers and inexpensive.

I was prepared for 2 days of back and forth to get this done. Turns out within 10 minutes I had it installed. After you provide your key, they then ask a bit more information including your phone number. I am guessing they verify that number is accurate and while your browser screen says "wait for phone call" your phone suddenly rings. You press a few numbers and it records your voice and when you hang up the browser advances to the next screen. Very slick.

I just had to verify my email address on record and the deed was done. Very painless. I have had no problems with the cert on the browsers I have tested (mac / pc, ff, netscape, safari, IE).

I figure we saved $60 or more on the SSL and got it done much faster than planned. That never happens!

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