Cheap & Best SSL Wildcard Certificates in UK

Wildcard SSL Certificates - When Are They Useful?

In the early decades of the internet, websites, with few exceptions, had a relatively simple and self-contained structure, rarely using branched presences with multiple subdomains. In modern internet presence, such complex branching has long been established, leading to increased requirements for securing the IT environment through certificates or secure data centers. A popular method to simplify configuration is the use of wildcard SSL certificates, which cover an entire domain instead of a single internet address.

What Role Do Certificates Play in Data Transmission Encryption?

For communication over the internet, certificates serve several functions that are essential for secure information transmission. The most important functions include:

• Uniquely and unmistakably identifying a domain
• Negotiating secure encryption for data transmission
• Transmitting a cryptographic key for sending information
• Locally decrypting received packets on a server
• Guaranteeing the authenticity of certificates by official authorities
• Detailed information about issuers, owners, validity, duration, and scope

To achieve secure encryption of data transmission between the server and a client, the internet uses asymmetric encryption. In this method, information is encoded with a publicly known key but can only be decrypted with a second private key. This method avoids the exchange of a universal code that could be intercepted, allowing decryption of messages sent by both sides. Regular SSL certificates are specific to a single address and do not include subdomains without additional configuration. This means that, for example, the website example.org requires different authentication than its subdomains support.example.org or mail.example.org.

What Are Wildcard SSL Certificates?

There is the possibility to bundle certificates and extend them to more than one (sub)domain. We will delve into this in more detail in the comprehensive article "What is a Wildcard SSL Certificate". In this case, they combine the given addresses and apply, for example, to multiple explicit addresses such as mail.example.org, web.example.org, www.example.org, or ftp.example.org simultaneously. However, the system proves to be less flexible as it requires the generation of a new certificate for each new entry. A solution to this issue is provided by Wildcard SSL certificates, which apply to an entire group of subdomains. Typically, these are denoted by an * as a placeholder, such as *.example.org. Such Wildcard SSL certificates allow for real-time addition of new addresses that can be immediately integrated into the IT infrastructure. A typical use case is web hosts who can automatically provide a subdomain to their customers and secure it globally through their Wildcard SSL certificates.

How to use Wildcard SSL certificates?

Compared to other affordable SSL certificates, Wildcard SSL certificates have increased requirements for their application, as naturally, there are numerous opportunities for potential misuse. For instance, the holder of such Wildcard SSL certificates from a web host could potentially assume the identity of all customers and identify themselves as a legitimate contact person. Furthermore, cybercriminals could set up a seemingly official domain on a server if, for example, they can stealthily obtain a Wildcard SSL certificate through a prior attack.

For this reason, organizations like Let's Encrypt, GlobalSign, or Digicert issue a wildcard SSL certificate only after a more thorough verification process, for example, after identifying the entire domain through the DNS system. Additionally, there are advanced versions such as Multi-Domain Verifications, where a wildcard SSL certificate is valid not only for subdomains but also for more than one Top-Level Domain (TLD). In this case, data transmission occurs simultaneously across multiple servers using identical certificates. This approach is chosen, for instance, by multinational corporations with numerous subsidiaries to avoid managing each domain individually. However, SSL certificates for multiple domains are usually significantly more costly than multiple conventional wildcard SSL certificates and are therefore recommended only when necessary.

Need an SSL certificate for a single domain? Then check out the category of Single-Domain SSL Certificates.

Looking to use an SSL certificate for multiple domains? Then the offers in the Multi-Domain SSL Certificates category may be of interest to you.

If you want to protect your e-commerce customers' data, take a closer look at specialized SSL Certificates for Online Shops.