Question 1

What is a Certificate Manager?

Accepted Answer

Certificate managers (also called certificate management software or certificate management solutions) are tools that are used to manage SSL/TLS certificates. By using a certificate manager, the issuance and renewal of SSL/TLS certificates can be automated, which greatly reduces the work involved in certificate management. The automation of certificate management is becoming increasingly important against the backdrop of ever shorter terms: while certificates with a term of up to five years were initially issued, in 2015 the maximum validity was initially limited to three years and in 2018 the term was finally limited to two years. Since 2020, SSL/TLS certificates have only been issued for a maximum of 13 months. A further reduction to just 90 days is being discussed in the future. To prevent website downtime due to expired certificates, it is therefore advisable for all organizations to use a certificate manager.

Question 2

Why do I need a Certificate Manager?

Accepted Answer

Certificate managers are generally suitable for the administration of all domains, as the use of these solutions can prevent failures due to expired certificates. Nevertheless, it can be said that Certificate Managers become more lucrative with increasing complexity. The more extensive your web presence with different websites and the associated domains and subdomains, the more complex the holistic protection of the various web contents via SSL/TLS encryption becomes. Nevertheless, encryption should not be dispensed with under any circumstances. HTTPS websites encrypted via SSL/TLS are standard on the Internet today. In the case of unsecured HTTP pages, modern browsers warn users that the page is not secure. A domain authenticated by an SSL certificate, on the other hand, appears trustworthy from the user's point of view. If the data transfer is encrypted using SSL/TLS, users can be relatively certain that they are connected to the correct, authentic web server, that no content has been manipulated and that their data is protected. SSL/TLS encryption is therefore used in all areas where secure data transmission is important, such as online banking, online shopping, webmail and web forms. Currently, 97 of the top 100 websites use HTTPS as standard (these websites account for around a quarter of all website traffic worldwide) - the encryption standard is supported by all top websites (as of Nov. 2023). By using certificate management tools, you can benefit from the advantages of secure domains without incurring any significant additional costs.

Question 3

What types of SSL/TLS certificates can a Certificate Manager manage?

Accepted Answer

Depending on the provider, different types of SSL/TLS certificates can be managed with a Certificate Manager:

Domain Validation (DV-SSL): With this certificate, the Certificate Authority (CA) checks the applicant's right to use a specific domain name. DV-SSL certificates can be issued very quickly as the CA does not require any further company documents.
Organization Validation (OV-SSL): In addition to the applicant's right to use a specific domain, the CA checks some additional company information here. A website with an OV-SSL certificate therefore presents the user with more information about the operator of the website, which inspires more trust.
Extended Validation (EV-SSL): In this case, the organization is thoroughly checked by the CA. The EV guidelines ratified by the CA/Browser Forum in 2007 define how the issuing process works. Among other things, companies must verify that the organization exists legally, materially and operationally and has the exclusive right to use the corresponding domain.
Wildcard: A wildcard SSL certificate makes it possible to secure a base domain and any number of subdomains with a single certificate. This is usually much cheaper and less expensive than having a separate certificate issued for each subdomain. For example, a wildcard SSL certificate for the base domain example.com is also valid for login.example.com, mail.example.com or download.example.com.

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Download the product sheet for Myra Certificate Management – learn more about the features of our certificate manager, how to avoid problems caused by expired certificates and how SSL/TLS encryption works.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Certificate Management

What is a Certificate Manager?

Why do I need a Certificate Manager?

What types of SSL/TLS certificates can a Certificate Manager manage?