Chained Root SSL Certificates

When connecting to a web site over SSL, the visitor's web browser decides whether or not to trust the SSL Certificate based on which Certification Authority (CA) has issued the actual SSL Certificate. To determine this, the browser looks at its own internal list of trusted Certification Authorities (CA's). These are added into the browser by the browser vendor (such as Microsoft, Netscape and Mozilla).

Technical Information Support

Most SSL Certificates are issued by Certification Authorities (CA's) who own and use their own Trusted Root CA Certificates. We only issue SSL Certificates by trusted Certification Authorities (CA's) - this means they have already been added into the browser by the browser vendor and are regarded as highly trusted. Some newer SSL Certificates (such as Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates) may contain a Chained Certificate, however we will only provide Chained Certificates where the Certification Authority (CA) owns the Root Certificate associated with it.

Some Companies Issue Inferior SSL Certificates

Some Certification Authorities (CA's) do not have a Trusted Root CA Certificate present in browsers, or do not use a root that they own, and use a Chained Root in order for their SSL Certificates to be trusted. Essentially a Certification Authority (CA) with a Trusted Root CA Certificate issues a Chained Certificate which inherits the browser recognition of the Trusted Root CA. These SSL Certificates are known as Chained Root SSL Certificates and may now be owned by the SSL Certificate issuer.

A Direct Relationship Is A Sign Of Stability & Trust

For a Certification Authority (CA) to have and use its own Trusted Root CA Certificate which is already present in browsers is a clear sign that they are long time, stable and credible organizations who have long term relationships with the browser vendors (such as Microsoft, Mozilla and Netscape) for the inclusion of their Trusted Root CA Certificates. For this reason, such Certification Authorities are seen as being considerably more credible and stable than Chained Root SSL Certificate providers who do not have a direct relationship with the browser vendors, or do not use their own root certificates to issue SSL Certificates.

You can view the Certification Authorities (CA's) who have and use their own root certificates by viewing the list in your browser. We do not recommend the use of an SSL Certificate from a vendor that does not have a direct relationship with the browser vendor.