Title: Do you have any tips for purchasing a signed SSL certificate? Question: Do you have any tips for purchasing a SSL certificate signed by a well-known public Certification Authority? Answer: UW Technology purchases SSL certificates from Thawte (www.thawte.com) and has done so for some time. We have developed a good business relationship with Thawte and have had no real complaints while working with them. Please ensure that you have the correct documentation available and that you are familiar with the ordering console. Here are some tips. 1) Required Documentation Thawte requires, proof of organizational name and proof of right to use your domain name. If you e-mail "whois washington.edu" information to Thawte, as well as your server's domain name in the washington.edu domain, that will be sufficient. 2) Payment Information Use the link: http://www.thawte.com/cgi/server/ispSelector.exe?isp=UNIWASH Once you have enrolled for the certificate make out your check to "Thawte Consulting (USA) Inc." and mail it to this address: thawte Order Processing c/o Accounts Receivable 487 E. Middlefield Rd. Mountain View, CA 94043 Email ispsales@thawte.com along with your order number so that Thawte can assess the order and respond accordingly. Often, they will issue the certificate before receiving your check. 3) Record Keeping Print out a copy of your order for record keeping 4) Contact Information When making your certificate request please do not use the pre-populated contacts. Instead, be sure that you fill in the name and e-mail address of the designated technical contact from your department; this is vital so that correspondence and passwords from Thawte can reach the correct person. 5) Renewal Contact Information Some SSL certificates expire after a year, others after two, so eventually they must be renewed. Thawte will notify you ahead of time, so be sure that you provide them with a reliable contact person, preferably a designated technical contact for your department or else your certificate may expire.