(in Internet Explorer)

Extended Validation SSL Certificates were created to address the rise in Internet fraud that was eroding consumer confidence in online transactions. Until Internet Explorer 7, most internet browsers' did not clearly differentiate between low-validation certificates and those that have undergone a more rigorous validation process. Since any successful SSL connection causes the padlock icon to appear, users are not likely to be aware of whether the website owner has been validated or not. As a result, fraudsters(including phishing websites) have started to use SSL to add credibility to their websites.

Extended Validation SSL certificates are an emerging standard that help verify and further validate a Web site owner. By establishing stricter issuing criteria and requiring consistent application of those criteria by all participating Certificate Authorities, Extended Validation SSL certificates will restore confidence among users that a website operator is a legally established business or organization with a verifiable identity.

In layman’s terms, Extended Validation SSL’s (commonly referred to as “the green address bar”) are a way for website owners to show the visitors on their site that they are an authentic and legitimate company and not a phishing site. These certificates are only issued after an extensive investigation into the requesting company.

Extended Validation SSL certificates are being promoted right now by both the Certificate Authorities and the browser communities as an end to phishing sites as we know it. In a little over a year, Extended Validation certificate adoption has dramatically increased; from 4,000 to 13,000.

(in Firefox)