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Ask HN: Why is there so much mess around SSL certs?
6 points by jumper5 on Sept 1, 2011 | hide | past | favorite | 1 comment
...and I do NOT mean just in context of Comodo and DigiNotar issues.

* They are at times pretty costly, even when most of the tasks can be automated

* The stupidity of wildcard certs -www.domain.tld versus domain.tld

* The vendors often have several categories of certs, as if I'm buying Windows Vista

* The prices among vendors varies significantly

Doesn't all of this, inclusive of the fake certs fiasco, render the whole technology useless. I do realise my exaggeration but heck, I'm frustrated.



CA certs are currently the only widely available web technology against MITM attacks. The alternative is to build your own web of trust.




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