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Emerchants Help Consumers Stay Safe Online With Comodo Certificates with Green Trust Indicators

By Deploying Content Verification Certificates and EV SSL Certificates, eMerchants deliver an end-to-end trust experience that helps consumers overcome concerns about shopping online

Jersey City, NJ (August 24, 2007) - According to a recent study by Consumers Telecommunications Network, titled Surfing on Thin Ice, (June 2007), a significant number of consumers (approximately 75%) are aware that shopping online can pose risks to their identities should their sensitive information be stolen. While consumers are keenly aware of the dangers, more than half (approximately 53%) do not feel they have adequate methods to protect themselves. For both current and prospective eMerchants, particularly newer and smaller ones, consumers' lack of trust with online merchants can make the job of starting or growing an online business much more difficult. To combat this problem, Comodo is offering several solutions that can help eMerchants achieve consumer trust. One effective solution are Comodo's line of digital certificates that can be incorporated into an eMerchant's website which provide new conspicuous visual "trust indicators" that assure consumers of a site's authenticity before they provide any sensitive information.

To help consumers overcome concerns about shopping online, merchants can provide reassuring green "trust indicators" signifying that they are on trustworthy, authenticated site in the form of a green browser address bar in Comodo Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates, and a green box outlining their entire computer display in the case of Comodo Content Verification Certificates (CVCs). When deployed in tandem, these solutions provide a new level of consumer trust assurance that covers the entire user online experience, starting from when a consumer enters the site and providing assurance up to when their transaction has been completed.

"Business customers are looking for better ways to deliver trust to site visitors," said Melih Abdulhayoglu, CEO and Chief Security Architect of Comodo. "Comodo is working to develop and deliver better trust-based solutions to consumers. We are always looking at how we can provide a greater business value to our eMerchant customers through a broad range of digital certificates and other innovative solutions."

Solution Overview

Content Verification Certificates (CVC)
CVCS Deliver Site Identity Confirmation
CVCs are digital certificates that confirm the authenticity of various types of website content such as login boxes and company logos. These digital certificates tie any content designated by the certificate holder to a specific IP address or URL controlled by the content owner. Once the content is secured, consumers using a free downloaded plug-in called VerificationEngine, verifies that this content belongs to that site and not a phishing site. Today, CVCs are being used to protect the corporate logos of over 200,000 eMerchants.

CVCs in Action (A Real World Example on a Bank Site)
A bank or credit union installs a CVC on their site to secure their login box or their rate card content. Jane Doe goes to the bank's site and moves her cursor to the login box area. With VerificationEngine, she will see a green border appear around her screen along with the words "authenticated by Comodo" confirming that the presented content is the bank's legitimate website. Because the verification happens BEFORE Jane Doe discloses any information, the risk of falling victim to a phishing attack is greatly reduced.

2. EV SSL Certificates
EV SSL Certificates Deliver Visual Reassurance When Disclosing Sensitive Information
SSL certificates are used by millions of online merchants to encrypt a customer's credit card details and other sensitive information during online purchases. With EV SSL certificates consumers also get a visual reassurance about a site's identity. Extended Validation (EV) Certificates provide web site visitors with an easy and reliable green trust indicator in Microsoft(r) Internet Explorer 7. Web pages containing an EV SSL certificate (pages where the consumer will enter sensitive information) will display a green address bar that confirms the identity of the Extended Validation certificate owner. Before EV SSL certificates are issued, applicants undergo a rigorous verification process that is designed to make it very difficult for fraudulent parties to obtain this kind of SSL Certificate while keeping the process simple and straightforward for legitimate business owners.

EV SSL Certificates in Action (A Real World Example on an eMerchant's Site)
Jane Doe, a consumer, has decided to make an online purchase from a website. She navigates to the purchase page which has been secured with an EV SSL certificate. Once she reaches this page, Jane Doe will see the address bar "go green" that indicates the presence of an EV certificate. The green bar assures Jane that the site is safe and has been verified by a trustworthy Certification Authority such as Comodo. The EV SSL Certificate also provides the name of the certificate holder, the name of the Certificate Authority that verified the certificate holder, and a notice that the user's connection to the website server is encrypted.

Summary

Together, CVCs with VerificationEngine and EV SSL certificates provide site visitors with powerful new visual trust indicators. These Green Trust indicators deliver a new level of confidence from the moment the consumer reaches the site until they are ready to buy, which means an eMerchant will stand a greater chance of overcoming consumers' ongoing concerns about safely transacting business online.

To learn more about CVC, please visit www.contentverification.com - For more information on EV SSL, please visit www.instantssl.com.

To download VerificationEngine, please visit: www.vengine.com

About Comodo

The Comodo companies provide the infrastructure that is essential in enabling e-merchants, other Internet-connected companies, software companies, and individual consumers to interact and conduct business via the Internet safely and securely. The Comodo companies offer PKI SSL, Code Signing, Content Verification and E-Mail Certificates; award winning PC security software; vulnerability scanning services for PCI Compliance; secure e-mail and fax services.

Continual innovation, a core competence in PKI, and a commitment to reversing the growth of Internet-crime distinguish the Comodo companies as vital players in the Internet's ongoing development. Comodo secures and authenticates online transactions and communications for over 200,000 business customers and 3,000,000 users of our desktop security products.

For additional information on Comodo - Creating Trust Online™ visit http://www.comodo.com

For more information, media representatives should contact
Judy Shapiro
Comodo
(201) 963-9471
Email: judy.shapiro@comodo.com