Businesses spend a lot to have an enticing website to showcase their communication messages meant for their audience. But the risks associated with websites are also growing over time. Hackers are always searching for the slightest of vulnerabilities to access the underlying sensitive information about website visitors. According to the 2020 Q3 Report on Data Breach QuickView from Risk Based Security, data breaches exposed 36 billion records in the first half of 2020.
One of the ways to thwart data breaches is to install an SSL certificate. However, many entities have several business lines for which they will need a single-stop-shop for securing all the sub-domains. In such a scenario, all the subdomains’ security can be handled through a single Wildcard SSL certificate.
What is a Wildcard SSL certificate?
An SSL certificate can prevent cyberattacks by encrypting the communication the visitor has with the webserver. However, many entities have several business lines for which they will need a single-stop-shop for securing all the sub-domains. It becomes difficult to have several SSL certificates to cater to the website of so many sub-domains. It is where a Wildcard SSL certificate can help.
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These certificates were designed to secure the primary domain and the sub-domains that belong to the same domain. Thus, as you can see, it will allow you to secure multiple subdomains through a single certificate.
For example, you have the domain name as domainname.com and use the Wildcard SSL for this domain. You can also secure the following sub-domains:
- xyz.domainname.com
- blog.domainname.com
- name.domainname.com
- mails.domainname.com
The Wildcard SSL will be provided only to the root domain. This certificate will support no second-level subdomains.
Benefits of Wildcard SSL certificate
- Better certificate management
Imagine yourself in the footsteps of a webmaster having to handle the security of a domain that has numerous sub-domains. Would it be easy for you to control the management of several SSL certificates? All you have to do is to select the certificate from among the cheapest Wildcard SSL certificate providers. A single certificate will allow you to manage the relations with a single vendor. You do not have to set up notifications for the renewal of the certificates at different times of the year.
- Gain the trust of users
The use of SSL certificates can help prevent attacks by encrypting the communication messages with visitors. It can also prevent any unauthorized access to the back-end. It is better to secure all your subdomains too. You can easily choose an option from the Cheap SSL Coupon Code website for exclusive discount deals for the best brands. The site’s users can also stay confirmed as a legitimate Certification Authority (CA) has validated the website’s credentials and the business based on the certificate selected.
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- Assured protection of the website
The aggressiveness of hackers has made businesses adopt best practices to prevent such attacks. The Wildcard SSL helps to protect your domain and the sub-domains at the same level. It ensures a secure exchange of information over a 256-byte encrypted process that ensures that hackers cannot access your sensitive data. The encryption also does not take much time. A respectable third-party – the CA validates your identity. The browsers trust these entities, and there is no message stating that the users are at an untrusted site.
- Compatibility
The certificates are compatible with most browsers – both mobile as well as desktop. Most Wildcard SSL certificates are supported with the latest browser versions. There could be a few older browser versions where these certificates may not be valid. It is also necessary to note that it does not take much time for the CA to validate the business’s authenticity or the website, and this is usually completed in a matter of days.
Types of Wildcard SSL Certificates
Let us now learn about the types of Wildcard SSL certificates.
DV Wildcard SSL certificates. After validating the domain name, these certificates are provided by the CA. You must provide an email ID to the Certification Authority. It is ideal for smaller websites like blogs, personal websites, etc.
OV Wildcard SSL certificates. To award these certificates, the CA verifies both the domain and the organization through a basic validation level. The certificate is issued to only legally registered entities.
How can you install a Wildcard SSL Certificate?
Once you have paid for the certificate, install it on the server. The installation requires two major steps. One of them is the generation of the Certificate Signing Request (CSR). When you are generating the CSR, fill the required information. You must include the fully qualified domain name (FQDN). The Wildcard placeholder – the asterisk (*) must be used. Then the CSR will be generated for the servers along with the private key.
When the CSR is provided, please submit it to the CA along with the necessary information. The required information may vary across the CAs. You will receive the files for the installation. The files must then be unzipped and stored in the correct directories in the server. It must be installed on the original server. Once it is done, you may convert the format for installation in other servers.
What are Multi-Domain Wildcard Certificates?
There could be complex websites with multi-level sub-domains. It will be difficult for the webmaster to procure several certificates for the multi-level sub-domains. It would be better to have a single-stop shop for such a website too. The Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL certificates are an ideal option. It can help to secure multi-level sub-domains by allowing to encrypt them while using a single certificate.
Conclusion
The increase in the number of successful data breaches requires businesses to be on their guard. There must be proper systems to prevent such attacks. If you are the webmaster of a complex website with several sub-domains, you can choose a Wildcard SSL certificate. If there are several subdomains at multiple levels, you must select a Multi-domain Wildcard certificate. You may choose one of the best Wildcard SSL certificate providers at Cheap SSL Coupon Code.
