Security is a matter of trust. IONOS relies on the years of experience of the market leader DigiCert for SSL certificates. An overview of the available SSL certificates and their benefits can be found below.

    SSL Certificates for Smaller Web Sites and Blogs

    Product SSL Starter Wildcard SSL Starter
    Availability 1 Included with all hosting products. Additional wildcard certificates can be ordered as add-ons. Available as an add-on.
    Technical Certificate Name GeoTrust Quick SSL Premium Wildcard GeoTrust Quick SSL Premium
    Authentication Type Domain validated (DV) Domain validated (DV)
    Domain Assignment 1 Domain + Unlimited Subdomains 1 Domain or Subdomain
    Security Up to 256-bit Encryption, 2048-bit root Up to 256-bit Encryption, 2048-bit root

    SSL Certificates for Companies, Organizations and Online Shops

    Product SSL Business SSL Business Wildcard SSL Premium
    Availability Available as an add-on. Available as an add-on. Available as an add-on.
    Technical Certificate Name GeoTrust True BusinessID Certificate GeoTrust True BusinessID Wildcard GeoTrust True BusinessID with EV
    Authentication Type Organization Validated (OV) Organization Validated (OV) Organization Validated with Extended Validation (EV)
    Domain Assignment 1 Domain or Subdomain 1 Domain + Unlimited Subdomains 1 Domain or Subdomain
    Security Up to 256-bit Encryption, 2048-bit root Up to 256-bit Encryption, 2048-bit root Up to 256-bit Encryption, 2048-bit root

    Authentication Types

    When you set up the SSL certificate for your domain, it is requested from the certification authority and subject to a verification procedure by them. Depending on the certificate, the verification procedure varies in complexity.

     

    • Domain Validation (DV) SSL certificates are the lowest level of authentication. Domain Validation ensures that the applicant has administrative rights to the domain. This is verified by asking the domain owner to configure a specific DNS setting for the domain in order to be validated. At IONOS, we handle this configuration for you in the background, to ensure that the verification is quick and involves no manual intervention. This validation type does not verify the identity of the applicant however. That is why DV SSL certificates are mostly used to protect personal websites, such as blogs.
    • Organization Validation (OV) SSL certificates (also known as enterprise validation or business identity validation) verifies the identity of the applicant company and the identity of the domain holder, in addition to the DV validation. This additional verification by the certificate authority means that OV SSL certificates cannot be issued or installed until the validation is complete. But because of the additional verification, OV SSL certificates are more sucure and used to protect company or corporate websites.
    • Extended Validation (EV) SSl certificates currently represent the highest authentication level. Verification of the company identity is subject to the strictest authentication standard. This extensive verification by the certificate authority means that EV SSL certificates cannot be issued or installed until all verifcations are complete. But because of the extensive verification, EV SSL Certificates serve the highest possible protection of company or corporate websites. In current browsers, the address bar is highlighted in green if an EV SSL certificate is used, so that visitors are assured of the robust security.