Domain-validated certificates

The domain-validated SSL certificate (DV certificate) is the most basic, and validates the domain associated with the SSL certificate that is registered. To validate a DV SSL certificate, the owner (or someone with admin rights) approves the certificate request via email or DNS.

The email recipient proves their administrative privileges over the domain by acknowledging receipt and sending confirmation to the provider. Additionally, they may be required to configure certain DNS records for the associated domain. The process may take a few minutes to a few hours to order and validate a DV certificate.

This should be the most common type of certificate used because any site can quickly install them for little or no cost. If your site might be the target of phishing or other forms of fraud, you should probably invest in a certificate that requires more authentication:

Browsers will visually indicate a site that is served with proper HTTPS, typically with a green padlock. The domain-validated certificate is the minimal certificate required for this status.

The following screenshot shows how FireFox displays the certificate's information. Here is my current Love2Dev.com certificate, a domain-validated certificate:

You can see that it only lists the common name (domain) and leaves the Organization and Organizational Unit empty.