Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates are the next generation SSL Certificate because they help protect against phishing attacks. They work with high security Web browsers including Microsoft IE 7, Firefox 3.0 and Opera 9.5 so that visitors to Websites with an EV SSL Certificate will see a "Green Address Bar". EV SSL Certificates represent a new industry standard for e-merchant identity verification developed by the CA/B Forum. Extended Validation Certificates are designed to provide visitors with the green "good to go" browser indicator when visitors go to a secure page.

An increasing number of customers look for the "Green Address Bar" to know whether they should trust web sites. In the world of e-commerce this trust is critical. Web sites displaying the Green Address Bar enjoy a competitive advantage over sites that don't as a result.

The goal of the Enhanced Validation process is to ensure that consumers have a way to authenticate legitimate sites from phishing sites. The increased trust and consumer protection offered by EV certificates necessarily involves a more rigorous validation process. This new procedure has been established by the industry group, CA/B Forum. The New Extended Validation Certificates will benefit your business because they will provide better consumer protection.

EV SSL certificate requirements include (but are not limited to):

1. Legal status as a company created by government filing
2. Registration number of incorporation
3. Place of business is in same jurisdiction (e.g. country) as place of business registration
4. Organization name
5. Business name
6. Full address and main phone number of place of business

Until now, customers had no visible online indication confirming that you are a verifiable business. But the new EV SSL Certificate works with the latest releases of the major browsers so that now your consumers can verify you and your identity.

Extended Validation SSL certificates protect users from doing business with unauthenticated web merchants. Simply, EV SSL certificates are the new type of certificate that provide rigorous authentication for a business' identity. This extended validation is given to online businesses that can be verified through evolved and secured authentication processes. If your site can be identity verified (and a competitor's site can not) customers are likely to trust you more. This competitive advantage translates into reduced visitor abandonment rates, improved conversions, higher revenue per transaction and higher lifetime customer value. In the world of e-commerce, establishing trust is mission critical because when you win your customer's trust, you win their business.