What is an EV certificate?

Extended Validation or “EV” is the new standard developed and agreed upon by the major Certificate Authorities (like GeoTrust® and VeriSign®) and the major browser vendors (like Microsoft®) to authenticate and issue next-generation SSL certificates.

EV SSL certificates help protect your site from phishing scams and assure your customers that they are dealing with a business or organization that has been thoroughly checked out using the New EV standard.

So what’s the big deal?

The green bar is the big deal. EV certificates create an improved visual experience for the user by turning the address bar green for sites that have obtained an EV SSL certificate when using a high-security browser like IE7 (future releases of Firefox and Opera will also support this new technology). Included in the green bar are the legal name of your company and the GeoTrust name. The green address bar is an instant visual queue to your customers that your site is a trusted site and has met rigorous EV authentication standards. Higher trust means more business for you.

Who should get an EV certificate?

• E-commerce sites
• Banking an other financial sites
• Well known, high-risk customer-facing sites
• Any site looking to protect its brand
• Any site that is likely to be the target of phishing scams
• Any site that that wants a competitive advantage

The benefits of an EV SSL certificate are increased consumer confidence in your site and your brand. That translates into more online sales and customer follow-through. You’ll have the competitive advantage over competitors not using EV SSL.

Who can get an EV SSL certificate?

• Corporations and LLC's (or equivalent in its country of origin)
• Registered government entities
• General partnerships
• Sole proprietorships
• Unincorporated associations

The entity must have a valid charter, certificate, license or equivalent document listed in an official registry in its area of jurisdiction. The registration status must be verifiable through the registration bureau (e.g., your local Secretary of State).

Who cannot get an EV SSL certificate?

• Individuals (that are not registered as a sole proprietorship)

The vetting procedures for EV SSL will verify four key items

1. The legal existence of the business
2. Basic business identity
3. The businesses’ right to use the domain name in the certificate
4. The business named in the certificate authorized the request

EV SSL certificates have higher standards. They’re harder to obtain and take longer to get, sometimes as long as two weeks. Advance planning is the name of the game when it comes to applying for an EV SSL certificate.

IMPORTANT: Extended Validation verification guidelines require GeoTrust to obtain and verify multiple pieces of identifying information about Extended Validation certificate applicants. Before you apply for an EV SSL certificate, please be familiar with the Authentication Requirements.

Includes EV Upgrader™!

EV Upgrader is a proprietary technology owned by VeriSign® that allows users to have their IE7 browser display the green bar on XP systems. (Just in case you didn’t know, GeoTrust is a VeriSign company, so you get this cool technology too.)

*EV certificates are recognized natively in Internet Explorer 7 web browsers running on Windows Vista. Problem is that while plenty of people are getting on board with IE7 most are still running on XP. EV Upgrader will enable users with IE7 browsers, still running on XP machines, to see the green bar too. This exciting new technology is built right into the GeoTrust True BusinessID EV site seal.

Why GeoTrust?

GeoTrust is the world’s second largest Certificate Authority (CA). The GeoTrust brand is well known and recognized and covers over 30% of the SSL market share. Now, more than ever, the issuing CA is critical to the purchase process. This is because the issuing CA is prominently displayed within the green bar. If you want to broadcast an online image of being a trusted merchant do you want to display the name of some bargain-basement CA or a CA that has 100-million online shoppers viewing the brand? Go GeoTrust!

Grow your business with patented “Smart Seal” technology.

GeoTrust's patented “Smart Seal” technology resides on your web pages, automatically identifying your site as genuine, authentic, and validated by an independent third party.

This is a snapshot of the True BusinessID True Site Smart Seal. The actual seal will disable right-click copy-and-save features to prevent spoofing.

When a customer clicks on the True Site seal, the server automatically performs a domain look-up to verify they’re visiting a legitimate site. The result? Greater customer confidence and 24x7 assurance, more e-commerce activity – and a significant increase in online revenue.

 

Pricing Information

Related Links:

• Buy SSL Certs - Purchase Verisign ssl and GeoTrust SSL certificates including ev ssl certificates
• EV SSL Guide - SSL FAQs, EV SSL guides and news on Extended Validation EV SSL Certificates

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More Information

Read our GeoTrust True BusinessID with EV Product Page

Read our EV SSL FAQs

View our Trust Seal Programs which include GeoTrust SSL Certificates

For further information on EV SSL Certificates please visit the EV SSL Guide.com.