StartCom
Encyclopedia
StartCom is a company based in Eilat, Israel
that has three main activities: StartCom Linux Enterprise (Linux distribution
), StartSSL (Certificate Authority
) and MediaHost (Web hosting).
SSL certificate "StartSSL Free", which works for webservers (SSL/TLS
) as well as for E-mail encryption
(S/MIME
).
It also offers Class 2 and 3 certificates as well as Extended Validation Certificates, where a comprehensive validation (with costs) is mandatory.
In June, 2011, the company suffered a data breach which resulted in StartCom suspending issuance of digital certificates and related services for several weeks.
, which also offers free Class 1 SSL certificates, the StartSSL certificate is included by default in Mozilla Firefox
2.x and higher, in Apple Mac OS X since version 10.5 (Leopard)
, all Microsoft
operating systems since 24 September 2009, and Opera
since 27 July 2010. Since Google Chrome
, Apple Safari and the Internet Explorer
use the certificate store of the operating system, all major browsers include support for StartSSL certificates.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
that has three main activities: StartCom Linux Enterprise (Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
), StartSSL (Certificate Authority
Certificate authority
In cryptography, a certificate authority, or certification authority, is an entity that issues digital certificates. The digital certificate certifies the ownership of a public key by the named subject of the certificate...
) and MediaHost (Web hosting).
StartSSL
StartCom offers the free Class 1 X.509X.509
In cryptography, X.509 is an ITU-T standard for a public key infrastructure and Privilege Management Infrastructure . X.509 specifies, amongst other things, standard formats for public key certificates, certificate revocation lists, attribute certificates, and a certification path validation...
SSL certificate "StartSSL Free", which works for webservers (SSL/TLS
Transport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
) as well as for E-mail encryption
E-mail encryption
Email encryption refers to encryption, and often authentication, of email messages, which can be done in order to protect the content from being read by unintended recipients....
(S/MIME
S/MIME
S/MIME is a standard for public key encryption and signing of MIME data. S/MIME is on an IETF standards track and defined in a number of documents, most importantly RFCs. S/MIME was originally developed by RSA Data Security Inc...
).
It also offers Class 2 and 3 certificates as well as Extended Validation Certificates, where a comprehensive validation (with costs) is mandatory.
In June, 2011, the company suffered a data breach which resulted in StartCom suspending issuance of digital certificates and related services for several weeks.
Trustedness
In contrast to CAcert.orgCAcert.org
CAcert.org is a community-driven certificate authority that issues free public key certificates to the public...
, which also offers free Class 1 SSL certificates, the StartSSL certificate is included by default in Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
2.x and higher, in Apple Mac OS X since version 10.5 (Leopard)
Mac OS X v10.5
Mac OS X Leopard is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on 26 October 2007 as the successor of Tiger , and is available in two variants: a desktop version suitable for personal computers, and a...
, all Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
operating systems since 24 September 2009, and Opera
Opera (web browser)
Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
since 27 July 2010. Since Google Chrome
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or...
, Apple Safari and the Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
use the certificate store of the operating system, all major browsers include support for StartSSL certificates.
See also
- CryptographyCryptographyCryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
- Extended Validation Certificate
- Public key certificatePublic key certificateIn cryptography, a public key certificate is an electronic document which uses a digital signature to bind a public key with an identity — information such as the name of a person or an organization, their address, and so forth...
- Public Key InfrastructurePublic key infrastructurePublic Key Infrastructure is a set of hardware, software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates. In cryptography, a PKI is an arrangement that binds public keys with respective user identities by means of a certificate...