An SSL certificate serves as a credential in the online world. Each SSL certificate uniquely identifies a specific domain (such as hostfav.com) and a web server. Trust of a credential depends on confidence in the organization that issued it. Certificate authorities have a variety of methods to verify information provided by individuals or organizations. Established certificate authorities, such as Comodo, Thawte, Symantec, RapidSSL, etc are well known and trusted by browser vendors. Browsers extend that trust to digital certificates that are verified by Comodo, Thawte, Symantec, RapidSSL, etc.
