This certificate is right for you if:

You need the protection of a base-level security certificate with the thawte hallmark of trust.

You need security protection fastthe SSL 123 is issued to you within minutes.

You need to establish trust with those who are considering communicating or transacting with you.

You need to guarantee information privacy and protection in data transmission between your web server and your customers web browsers using 256, 128, 56 or 40-bit encryption (depending on the browsers compatibility).

You don't need to include company details in your certificate contents. Your organizational details only need to be inserted in a digital certificate if you need to prove your company identity online (and not just your domain name). This is important in a variety of situations, most notably when conducting online commerce. If you require an SSL certificate that offers the highest possible protection in all circumstances, then thawte's SGC Certificate is the right product for you.

technical details

Authenication and Verification
When one applies for a thawte SSL Web Server Wildcard Certificate, the verification and authentication procedure that that particular individual/group/company is subject to is of the very highest standard. In fact, a stringent checklist of activities is undertaken to ensure that you really are who you claim to be.  The validation process includes:  

Step 1:  Authentication:

• Company registration details confirmed
• Confirmation that domain is owned by requesting party.

Step 2:  Verification

• 3rd party telephone listing used to confirm that the authorized person requesting certificate is employed by requesting party.

The value of this process cannot be underestimated, and it is this that has been the foundation of thawte's enviable reputation as a rock-solid independent Certification Authority (CA).

Certificate Signing Request (CSR) File
The process of applying for a thawte signed digital certificate begins with the generation and submission of a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) file. thawte then checks and verifies your right to use the domain name in question, and when satisfied, signs that request file using the trusted thawte CA root key, and issues it to you as your certificate.

When we issue your certificate it will contain two critical pieces of information. The first is the "Distinguished Name", which is a set of values that describes your country, state or province, city or town, organization, division within that organization and your web server domain name. The second is your public key.

256-bit SSL Encryption
thawte’s Webserver Wildcard certificates are capable of providing 256-bit encryption – the current industry standard.

Root-Level Authority
All thawte certificates are unchained and signed directly off the thawte Server CA root certificate.  This means that when purchasing a thawte certificate, you are not reliant on another entity’s root infrastructure to deliver your SSL certificates.  Thawte is one of the most established Certification Authorities worldwide.

Compatible Web Servers
thawte certificates have the highest browser compatibility in the industry and are available on:  Microsoft Internet Explorer (3.0+),  Netscape Navigator (2.0+), Opera (3.0+), Mozilla, Safari, Konqueror and WebTV Classic and Plus.

Support Resources

thawte offers the same premium level of support across all products. As a thawte customer you will have FREE access to:

• Full and unlimited online support for the lifetime of the certificate
• Multi-lingual global support in 28 languages
• Live online chat for sales and customer support
• 24 x 5 technical support
• Unlimited access to thawte's extensive online knowledge base
• Highly trained and dedicated support staff

Can you get the after sales technical support you need?

Depending on your level of experience in working with digital certificates, you may require assistance at various stages throughout the lifecycle of the product, from the initial request for a certificate to installation, renewal and possible reissuance of a certificate if required.

thawte has the support capabilities to assist you during the initial sales process as well as more unforeseen circumstances such as server migration, where competent support is always the most valuable.

Most importantly, thawte's technical support is FREE and available globally 24 x 5.