Secured Connection with
TLS / SSL certificates
What is an TLS / SSL certificate?
By encrypting traffic between the web server and the browser (or between two servers), an TLS / SSL certificate prevents any outsider from eavesdropping on the data being sent. This includes sensitive data such as usernames, passwords and account information transmitted to your database or other systems.
As of September 2020, the terms of all SSL certificates were limited to 1 year. This change places higher demands on you as certificate holders, that you are aware of the different maturities – Ports can, through our partner Digicert, offer Multi Year Plan which means that you can order certificates with terms of up to 6 years, where we ensure that the renewal takes place and you support with the validation itself.
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Analysis
In collaboration with you, we review the status of your certificates. What certificates do you have today, and when do they expire? From which issuers? Do you have the right level of security? We summarize this and much more in a document together with a recommended action plan.
We help you select and manage your SSL
Get control through consolidation
Based on the action plan we develop we give you the opportunity to carry out a consolidation to create the best protection, control and cost efficiency. You also get an overall view and control of all your certificates via our customer portal ports.management.
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Ongoing renewals
Through the Multi Year Plan, you can buy certificates with terms of up to 6 years. In addition, Ports Group confidently oversees the renewal and validation of your certificates every year. Your certificate management and administration is supervised by a dedicated representative at Ports Group.
We offer a wide range of SSL certificates
We offer certificates from Digicert, GeoTrust, RapidSSL & Thawte. The certificates can be ordered with
Domain Validation (DV), Organization Validation (OV) and Extended Validation (EV).
By being Platinum Partner to the world-leading certificate provider Digicert, we can offer you broad
expertise on the various certificates, access to the best support and get the latest information before others.
Through our good partner relationship, we ensure that validation will be as smooth and easy as possible.
Contact us and we will help you get the certificate and the supervision that best suits your business.
Ports.management
– Unique overview and management
Through our managed solution, we can offer a fully supervised certificate management and comprehensive overview and you get access to our unique customer portal Ports.management. There you get a complete overview of both your SSL certificates, domain names, hosting services and trademarks managed by us. In the portal you can:
- Manage orders
- Check status of the certificate
- Keep track of expiration dates
- Download certificate files (CSR)
Management options for your SSL certificates
We offer two different solutions for managing your certificates. Either you use a sub-account
where the administration is handled by your own organization, but we can also provide a
fully supervised solution where Ports manages your certificate administration.
Self-managed SSL certificates through a sub-account
Recommended if you want to manage SSL-certificates using resources in your own organization.
- Access to a sub-account with DigiCert
- Responsibility for orders and renewals lies with your organization
- Summary invoices from Ports make administration smoother
- Premium support included
- Can be integrated with our Multi Year Plan
- Through our Platinum Partnership you get faster support, you will be the first to find out the latest and you will get the most cost-effective solutions.
Supervised SSL management with first-class service
Recommended for those customers who want to focus on their business and let our experts handle the management.
- A solution where we take full charge in securing the management of your SSL certificates
- We conduct an initial review to gain insights about your certificates and provide you with an overview of them
- We assist in applying a centralized internal process for the request of SSL certificates by establishing authorized orderers in your organization. From there, we take care of your orders from start to finish
- We take full care of renewals and reminders
- We can assist in creating CSR files and converting a certificate into appropriate formats such as PEM or PFX. An order is usually processed in 15 to 60 minutes
- We keep track of your organization’s validations
- This service can be integrated with our Multi Year Plan.
- Through our Platinum Partnership you get faster support, you will be the first to find out the latest and you will get the most cost-effective solutions.
Advantages of Ports SSL management
Perfect overview
Via the ports.management interface, you get a uniquely clear overview of your SSL certificates, domain names, hosting services and trademarks managed by us.
Platinum Partner for best support
As a Platinum Partner of DigiCert (the world’s largest SSL distributor), we can offer favorable prices on safe and secure SSL management, including your own contact person providing you with dedicated support.
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Peace of mind management
We make sure that you have the latest information about necessary
renewals of your certificates. This reduces the risk of certificates falling by the wayside, which is all too common in large organizations. Read more about Supervised Management.
Cost-effective options
Our Multi Year Plan empowers you to order SSL certificates for up to 6 years. You do not need to keep track of renewals, as Ports monitors and renews the certificates every year to a fixed subscription fee.
Frequently asked questions
Does the website or server need to be hosted by Ports Group for us to order certificates?
No, it is enough that you control the server where the certificate is to be installed or that you have access to a hosting provider that supports installation of certificates on your website.
What is required to order a certificate?
In addition to accurate company information matching the domain owner, you need a CSR file from the server designated to use the SSL certificate.
What is a CSR file?
A CSR file is a request file used when ordering SSL certificates. It contains the information to be included in the certificate such as common name, hostname and location. The CSR file is usually created on the server where the certificate is to be used, as the private key is generated in connection with CSR.
At Ports Group, we can help create your CSR files. At your request, we create a CSR file containing the private and public key when issuing your certificate. The file, which can be sent in .PFX or .PEM format, is of course password protected in order to be delivered securely via e-mail.
What is the difference between a standard and a wildcard certificate?
A standard SSL certificate protects only the common names and subject alternative names (SANs) that you enter in the CSR file or certificate request, while a wildcard certificate secures websites with multiple subdomains.
An example: If you order a wildcard certificate for *.support.se, you can secure alternative subdomains without specifying these in the certificate request. For example, you get the options to secure www.support.se, mail.support.se or blog.support.se.
Please note that wildcard certificates do not secure name extensions in front of the alternate subdomains, such as test.mail.support.se. If you would like to add a single name extension in front of your subdomain name, you can add a SAN to the certificate, specifying test.mail.support.se. But if you want to secure several extension in front of mail.support.se, your best option is to request a wildcard certificate for *.mail.support.se
Learn more about SSL and HTTPS
We have developed a basic guide to SSL certificates; how they add value, the risks involved in managing
them and – most importantly – how to avoid the most common pitfalls. You find the guide under the header
“The SSL / HTTPS School in three parts”.
SSL/HTTPS School part 1
What is SSL/HTTPS anyway? Here it comes, the first out of three posts in our campaign to raise awareness and knowledge about SSL certificates and HTTPS.
SSL/HTTPS School part 2
What types of SSL-certificates are there, and which should we use? In this post, we will be giving you the basics of which kinds of certificates there are, and why those differences actually are important.
SSL/HTTPS School part 3
Safe management of SSL-certificates minimises the risk of business critical consequences. In this post, we will conclude this campaign by discussing the perhaps least discussed aspect of SSL-certificates, how to safely manage them in order to avoid potentially business critical consequences.