Pros and Cons of Securing Your Web Servers with a Wildcard Certificate

before discussing the wildcard SSL Certificate model specifically, it is important to understand something about the Internet domain. Each domain may be divided into an unlimited number of sub domains. On eBay, for instance, examples of sub domains include motors.eBay.com and community.eBay.com. For almost all purposes, these sub domains can be treated as completely separate from the parent domain name. This specificity applies to SSL certificates. This can cause problems for a buyer of a security certificate. Using a regular SSL certificate, a single domain or sub domain is protected, while possibly leaving portions of the site unsecured.

For example, for each of these three yourdomain.com, www.yourdomain.com, and shops.yourdomain.com a different SSL certificate must be obtained. This can add significant costs and complexity to managing the site’s security. However, there are ways you can save time and money. Using SSL Wildcard certificates, you can ensure that an infinite number of sub domains are secured. Wildcard certificates are becoming more common and affordable. There are, however, advantages and disadvantages to consider.

Strengths :- You get to use a single certificate for each domain and all of its sub domains using a wildcard certificate. Provided that you want to secure enough sub domains, the Wildcard will prove less expensive. Furthermore, if you opt to use individual (non-Wildcard) standard certificates, and you are using a management interface to deploy twenty individual certificates, this may be a daunting task. When it comes time to update them, please remember that you must do everything over again. Wildcard certificates can make renewal and reimplementation quick and easy.

Weaknesses :- If you use a single certificate on one server, and the server is hacked, all the sub domains have then been breached. Regarding compatibility, some mobile operating systems, such as Windows Mobile 5, cannot operate properly with Wildcard SSL because using a wildcard certificate character (*) is not recognized. Some vendors provide the Subject Alte ative Name (SAN) certificate to allow for specific inclusion of multiple domains and sub domains. This allows for better compatibility with mobile devices.