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Showing posts with the label Transport Layer Security

HTTPS is more secure, so why isn't the Web using it?

Image via Wikipedia HTTPS is more secure, so why isn't the Web using it? Easy: SSL certificates cost money. Free SSL certificates usually trigger a browser warning that 99% of the people won't understand. There are ways around this, of course, but there is no way for a brand new retail channel machine to accept one of these certificates with 100% reliability. Not all hosts support it. Not all hosts need it.  A little more detail: SSL certificates cost money The cheapest Verisign certificate I could find (at their site) in 30 seconds is $399. I found one at Thawte for $149, but I am 99.99% sure the two products are not equivalent. I don't sell certificates at http://gopedro.net anymore, but it looks like I was selling these Thawte certificates for $45 for the first year, and yes, that includes a hefty markup. Basically these certificates are a license to print money, they cost whatever the market will bear. Worse, if you take two of these certificates at the sam...