Introduction to GeoTrust

 

GeoTrust acquired Equifax's security business in 2001, and was itself acquired by VeriSign in 2006. GeoTrust was included in Symantec's acquisition of VeriSign in 2010. Thawte is also now a Symantec property. GeoTrust claims to be the second largest digital certificate provider in the world.

 

GeoTrust's SSL Certificates

 

GeoTrust offers four different types of SSL Certificate and a free 30-day trial. They offer one choice that includes domain validation, two choices that include organization/business identity validation, and one choice with Extended Validation (EV). Let's look at the various offerings that GeoTrust has.

 

Quick SSL Premium

 

GeoTrust Quick SSL Premium replaces an earlier QuickSSL, and earlier product that also had domain authentication and which is no longer available to buy, but can be renewed. Quick SSL Premium Certificates are designed to provide basic, inexpensive encryption for a single domain. They have domain validation and are generally available within minutes. They have over 99% browser compatibility, and remain valid for 1 to 6 years. They include a dynamic date/time site seal and provide up to 256-bit SSL encryption. They are compatible with mobile devices and can be deployed on an unlimited number of servers. They come with a $100,000 warranty and a 1-year purchase is $149.

 

True Business ID Wildcard

 

True Business ID Wildcard SSL Certificates are designed to secure an unlimited number of subdomains. They have organization/business identity validation and are generally available in 1 to 2 days. They have over 99% browser compatibility, and remain valid for 1 to 5 years. They include a dynamic date/time site seal and provide up to 256-bit SSL encryption. They are compatible with mobile devices and can be deployed on an unlimited number of servers. They come with a $125,000 warranty and a 1-year purchase is $499.

 

True Business ID

 

True Business ID Certificates are designed to provide strong SSL to meet the needs of a single business. They have organization/business identity validation and are generally available in 1 to 2 days. They have over 99% browser compatibility, and remain valid for 1 to 5 years. They include a dynamic date/time site seal and provide up to 256-bit SSL encryption. They are compatible with mobile devices and can be deployed on an unlimited number of servers. Unlike the lower priced SSL certificates, they can be extended with the purchase of UC/SAN (Unified Communications/Subject Alternative Name) to secure up to 25 domains. They come with a $255,000 warranty and a 1-year purchase is $199 without UC/SAN.

 

True Business ID with EV

 

True Business ID Certificates with EV are designed to provide the greatest amount of credibility and security to meet the needs of a single business. They receive extended validation and are generally available in 1 to 10 days. They have over 99% browser compatibility, and remain valid for 1 to 2 years. They include a dynamic date/time site seal and provide up to 256-bit SSL encryption. They are compatible with mobile devices and can be deployed on an unlimited number of servers. Unlike the lower priced SSL certificates, they can be extended with the purchase of UC/SAN (Unified Communications/Subject Alternative Name) to secure up to 25 domains. They come with a $500,000 warranty and a 1-year purchase is $299 without UC/SAN.

 

More About UC/SAN

 

UC/SAN upgrades can be purchased with a new True Business ID Certificate or added to a certificate that is already owned by a GeoTrust customer, but in this case, they will be processed as renewals. The upgrades can be individual UC/SANs or 4-packs, but some information seems to indicate that a 4-pack must be purchased first and that individual UC/SANs can only be added after a 4-pack purchase.

 

When one adds UC/SANs to a True Business ID SSL Certificate, it's possible to choose a validity period of 1 to 5 years. For the True Business ID with EV, the validity period is limited to 2 years maximum, just as it is with the SSL certificate.

 

GeoTrust's UC/SAN offerings are compatible with Office Communications Server 2007/2010 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007/2010. Like the SSL certificates, they can be installed on unlimited servers.

Sources

 

geotrust.com