Internet Explorer Trust Indicators

Q: What trust indicators are available in the Internet Explorer interface to show that a website's SSL certificate is trustworthy? Is there an easy way to differentiate between websites using an Extended Validation SSL certificate and websites using a standard SSL certificate?

A: Internet Explorer (IE) uses several visible trust indicators to show that a website's SSL certificate is trustworthy. For example, here's a summary of the SSL trust indicators that are used in Internet Explorer 8:

• When a standard SSL certificate is used (as Figure 1 shows for the Google website), IE uses the following trust indicators:
  • The standard http is changed to https in the IE address bar.
  • The padlock icon is activated on the right of the IE address bar.
    

    

• When an Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate is used (as Figure 2 shows for the GlobalSign website), IE will use the following additional trust indicators:
  • The IE address bar turns from white to green.
  • The website owner's legally incorporated company name is displayed on the right side of the IE address bar.
    

    

If you want to view further details of a website's SSL certificate, you can click on the padlock and select "View Certificates." This action will open the Certificate viewer, revealing all the certificate's X.509 details.