Really foxed by certificates!

[happyhacker]

If I use the self signed (free) one does this cover all sites on the server and all users?

If I buy one in the UK I understand it only gives me hassle free if I am trying to connect mobile devices. We don't have aneed for those (yet!). So does "mobile" exclude externally connected laptops/PCs?

IF I buy a certificate do I only need the single one for all users? If I go to certificate sites they confuse me with hundreds of products!

Thanks for your time.

 

[ShackDaddy]

You just need ONE single-name public cert. It's the cheapest one they sell at GoDaddy. Any remote system might as well be considered "mobile", whether it's an iPad or a Windows7 system with Outlook 2010 running on it, will benefit from you having a public cert. The hassle of deploying a self-signed cert costs far more than a GoDaddy cert, even for a 3-year cert. Comes to something like $50 when I use a coupon code.

If customer service is something you care a lot about, buy it from DigiCert.

Dave Shackelford MVP
ThirdTier.net
TrainSignal.com

 

[happyhacker]

Is "The hassle of deploying a self-signed cert ..." just the fact that it has to be done manually to each laptop? I can't quite see what the hassle is if there's only a few.

I am learning with the self signed one. Can these run together?

Thanks for your time.

 

[happyhacker]

PS I see that the Digicert costs £96 for a year but Godaddy costs only £32. Why such an enormous difference??

Thanks for your time.

 

[ShackDaddy]

If you only have a few mobile devices and you enjoy the cert deployment process, sure, spend the money on beer and don't buy a public cert, but I'm usually happy to spend a little money to add minutes to my day.

Certs don't really have much overhead costs involved in creating them, so any company that sets up to sell them can price them however they like, typically depending on what their overhead is. GoDaddy has a much broader portfolio of services and can afford to low-ball the market on cert pricing, and they do. The companies like Digicert that only sell certs can't compete on pricing, but they can make up for it with service. There's a pretty hilarious Digicert commercial I saw lately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr4zSaKjts0

Dave Shackelford MVP
ThirdTier.net
TrainSignal.com

 

[happyhacker]

ShackDaddy, that was good! thanks for replying. I have invoked the Self cert. and now have remote access to the server, etc. I may get a GoDaddy one but can they run together?

PS I also changed my external Domain Name a while ago and notice an old cert. in the repository. Can I safetly delete it and how?

Thanks for your time.

 

[ShackDaddy]

If you get the GoDaddy, it supercedes the self-signed, and you shouldn't have any conflicts. You won't need to remove the self-signed certs from the clients to get the public cert to work, if that's what you're asking.

I would leave the old cert alone, but if you want to delete it you can by going into Certificate Manager and deleting it.

Dave Shackelford MVP
ThirdTier.net
TrainSignal.com

 

[happyhacker]

OK, thanks. I'll leave the old ones and now have permission from the boss to get a real one. I have now managed to use the inbuilt one now and have regular access from my home location on a W7 laptop to the server for admin purposes.

Thanks for your time.