Symantec SSL Review: Expensive SSL Certs. We Find Out If They Are Worth It.

Symantec is an industry leading SSL certificate provider offering EV, Wildcard, ECC and SAN certificates, along with vulnerability assessments and malware scanning.

Symantec offers everything that you would expect from a leading SSL provider. Their customer support service is top notch and they have multiple SSL options to suit different site security needs.

An SSL certificate from Symantec will instantly boost your website’s confidence and trust, allowing your brand to reach its full online potential.

Symantec’s cheapest SSL certificate is  279.00 per year.

Our Symantec review (2021 update) is made up of genuine user ratings that will help you decide whether or not you should buy SSL certificates from Symantec.

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Main Features of Symantec Certificates

Like most SSL providers, Symantec offers several basic features and service guarantees regardless of which digital certificate you choose to buy. To begin with, every SSL certificate you purchase from this provider will feature a 30-day money-back guarantee and Symantec’s NetSure Extended Warranty.

The SSL certificates also offer universal browser compatibility and you will be eligible for a free daily website malware scanning service. Other standard features that Symantec offers include a simple online application process for SSL certificates, full organization authentication as well as Norton’s and Symantec’s secure seal logos.

What Types of Certificates Does Symantec Offer?

In a nutshell, the SSL certificates that Symantec offers may be categorized into the following broad groups:

1) Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates

While these digital certificates are issued within 1-10 days, they offer the highest level of encryption with 256-bit keys. They include:

• Secure Site Pro SSL with Extended Validation
• Secure Site SSL with EV

With an extended validation SSL certificate, customers will be able to see the green tab and padlock logo next to their browser’s address bar that lets them know they are on a secure site. However, EV SSL certificates do not come cheap and they only secure one domain.

2) Business Validated SSL Certificate

Symantec’s business validated SSL certificates also provide up to 256-bit encryption. They include:

• Secure Site Pro
• Wildcard SSL
• Secure Site

Unlike the other business validated options that only secure one domain, the Wildcard SSL allows you to encrypt unlimited sub-domains with one certificate.

All of Symantec’s SSL certificates must be renewed annually by default. If you plan to stick with this certificate authority for the foreseeable future, you can also opt for SSL certificates that have a validity period of 2-3 years.

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Extras

Most SSL providers try to stand out by giving customers a few extra features, and Symantec is no exception. With their SSL certificate, you can benefit from bonus offerings such as an installation checker, licensing for multiple servers and the ability to manage all your Symantec products from one portal.

Safety and Security

As mentioned earlier, Symantec SSL certificates contain 256-bit keys, which is the highest level of encryption you can get. In addition, this certificate authority also offers a few extra security features such as:

• ECC algorithm, which uses shorter key lengths but provides better protection than current encryption methods.
• DSA standard for digital signatures that offers the same level of security and performance as the RSA algorithm, but uses a different encryption method and algorithm for signing.

Help and Support

If you want to learn more about Symantec and their SSL certificate options, you can visit the Support Center. This section on their website offers a wealth of information in the form of searchable help guides, installation instructions, answers to FAQs, troubleshooting guides and video tutorials.

For users who need technical support, Symantec offers both phone and email support. There’s a Technical Help Chat service as well. In addition, Symantec provides world-class customer support, with office locations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

2018 Update: Are Symantec Certificates Still Good?

You may have heard that some Symantec SSL certificates are not “trusted.”

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Any Symantec certificate you purchase now — or that was purchased after December 1, 2017 — is completely valid in browsers.
2. Any Symantec certificate issued before December 1, 2017 is not valid and must be replaced.
3. Invalid Symantec SSL certificates can be replaced free of charge by DigiCert. (To find out how to do this, scroll down to our FAQ.)

Google Chrome’s Distrust of Symantec

What happened: In March of 2017, Google indicated they had lost confidence in Symantec due to alleged flaws in the way its SSL certificates were being issued and validated by its partners. A lack of sufficient oversight was cited.

As OpenSRS reported, Symantec and Google “agreed on a plan that requires Symantec to migrate certificate validation to a third party.” Symantec sold its certificate business to Thoma Bravo, LLC, whereby it came to be controlled by DigiCert in 2017.

DigiCert Takes Over Symantec Certificate Authority

What does DigiCert’s role mean for me? DigiCert now controls the issuance and validation of Symantec certificates, but you can buy Symantec certificates anywhere you like. (The issuance and validation is something that happens behind the scenes.) With DigiCert’s takeover of these processes, Symantec SSL certificates now meet Google’s (and the industry’s) stringent criteria.

Get Your “Distrusted” Symantec Certificate Replaced for Free

What if I bought a Symantec certificate before Dec. 1, 2017? You need to get a free replacement from DigiCert. Scroll down the FAQ to find out how to do this.

Chrome Error Messages on Legacy Symantec Certificates

Google has formally “distrusted” Symantec certificates in Chrome. In late 2017, Google announced, “Starting with Chrome 66, Chrome will remove trust in Symantec-issued certificates issued prior to June 1, 2016.”

They added that with the release of Chrome 70, “all remaining Symantec SSL/TLS certificates will stop working.” Chrome 70 was released in First Canary version on July 20, 2018.

What will users see when a site’s Symantec brand certificate stops working? See this example below:

Here’s a table summary of what you need to know with the important Chrome release dates to keep in mind:

Also realize that these developments also affect other Symantec brand SSL certificates including Thawte, RapidSSL and GeoTrust. Those certificates can be replaced free of charge by DigiCert as well.

Summary

Symantec offers everything that you would expect from a leading SSL provider. Their customer support service is top notch and they have multiple SSL options to suit different site security needs. The only downside is that most of their entry-level SSL certificates offer business-level validation and they do not come cheap.

If you’re looking for more economical domain level SSL packages, you might want to check out companies such as Thawte and GeoTrust.

Try Symantec. Risk-free 30-day SSL certificate free trial

Symantec Plans & Prices

Symantec SSL/TLS certificates (formerly by VeriSign) uses industry-leading SSL encryption across all products. Get Symantec’s Secure Site certificates and obtain the Norton Secured Seal.

For the latest and most up to date prices visit Symantec’s website.

Try Symantec. Risk-free 30-day SSL certificate free trial

Best Symantec SSL Alternatives

• Comodo Review
• GeoTrust Review
• Thawte Review
• RapidSSL Review

People share their opinions about companies on Twitter each and every day. We monitor tweets about Symantec and apply a sentiment analysis algorithm that classifies these tweets as positive or negative. Every review is from a real person’s opinion. We use this information and output an approval rating score, which is based on real people, using positive and negative opinions about Symantec on Twitter.