Is Free SSL a Myth?
Anyone administrator of a web server knows that SSL (Secure Sockey Layer) certificates are an evil reality in the world of the web. SSL certificates are required on our servers to provide secure communication between the server and the web browser. But to obtain a certificate, an administrator must often pay in excess of $100 per domain. Why is this so expensive?
Fundamentally, a certificate serves two purposes. First, and most obviously, it secures the data being transmitted between the two computers in the conversation. Secondly, it can be used to verify that a server using that certificate is the server to which the certificate was issued.
The first issue is easily done with any geneic certificate. An encryption tunnel between the browser and the server prevents evesdroppers from intercepting the information that is sent between them. A certificate authority is not necessary to create this tunnel. But for obtaining the identity of the certificate provider, you need to rely on a third party to verify the identity of that server. And that's where these certificate authorities are catching on and giving us admis the shaft.