Chained Root SSL Certificates

An SSL certificate is a special technology that helps secure a website. When a website is SSL certified, it means that all transactions and data transmissions to and from the website to the web-server are secure and encrypted.

Basically there are two types of SSL certificates – Single Root and Chained Root SSL. Single Root Certificates are generally considered to be more secure certificate and preferred over Chained Root SSL Certificates. However Chained Root SSL Certificates are also quite effective and secure since they are generally based on a Trusted Root Certificate only

Let us get to know what exactly a Chained Root SSL Certificate is.

SSL Certificates are issued by Certification Authorities (CA) who generally own their Trusted Root CA Certificate. When we say Trusted Certificate, it means a Root Certificate that is recognised and already present in all the browsers and other applications that require and accept security certificate. An example of such a CA and Trusted Root CA Certificate would be GeoTrust, which is one of the oldest CAs and owns its Trusted Root CA Certificate.

When such a CA issues an SSL certificate, it is known as a Single Root SSL Certificate. There are several other SSL Certificate Authorities that don’t own a Trusted Root CA Certificate; or if they do, they don’t wish to issue SSL certificates based on that Root Certificate. As a result the CA links up with another CA that owns a Trusted Root Certificate and issues SSL certificates on that Trusted Root Certificate.

So when the browser links with the web-server and website, it actually identifies the Chained Root SSL Certificate as originated from the Trusted Root Certificate and accepts it. Unlike the identification process of the Single Root SSL Certificate which takes less than a second, Chained Root SSL Certificates take longer time to be recognised by the browser because they have to pass through two root levels.

A CA that issues Chained Root SSL Certificates is usually not recognised by the browsers and so they have to bank on those CAs that have browser recognition. This can sometimes create a problem in the sense that if the CA with the Trusted Root CA Certificate goes defunct, the Chained Root SSL Certificates issued will automatically become invalid.

Additionally the owner of the Trusted Root CA Certificate has full authority to make any changes they wish to their certificate without intimating the Chained Root SSL Certificate issuing CA. Any such changes can directly affect the Chained Root SSL Certificate. You might also face a few issues with installing the Chained Root SSL Certificate on the web-server; it might require deeper technical knowledge.With all the setbacks, there are also certain benefits of Chained Root SSL Certificates. The first is that Chained Root SSL Certificates cost comparatively lower than the Single Root SSL Certificates. So if you don’t have the budget for a Single Root Certificate, a Chained Root Certificate can easily fulfill your requirements.

Being based on a Trusted Root CA Certificate, Chained Root SSL Certificates generally work on industry standard 128 Bit encryption and security. This makes them just as secure as Single Root SSL Certificate.

If you are a start-up e-commerce website or a comparatively smaller one looking to grow, you can definitely get started with a Chained Root SSL Certificate. Though ideally you would be looking to get a Single Root SSL Certificate as it is the best you can get for your website.

The decision is up to you!! Click here to buy chained root SSL Certificates