J.D. Fox Micro Resource Center

Comodo offers free and inexpensive e-mail certificates, with an easy-to-use web interface for acquiring the certificates.

This first link is for home users. The certificate is completely free, but requires no validation. The certificate will state that your identity has not been verified.

Next is what Comodo calls a "business-class" certificate. What it really means is they require some actual validation of your identity (such as scanning your driver license), and an annual fee of $12. This enhances its value in the eyes of your recipients. It appears to represent the best value of all the links listed on this page.

VeriSign was one of the first companies that issued digital certificates. It had the most reputable name in the security industry, and commanded very high prices for its certificates because of this. Symantec, publisher of the well-known Backup Exec and Norton Anti-Virus applications, purchased Verisign in 2010. Surprisingly, about a year later, they suddenly began to phase out the famous name, and now they only use the Symantec name for their e-mail certificates. If you are still interested in the new name, you can get an e-mail certificate from them with no identity verification (which they call a Class 1 Digital ID), but will pay about the same price as some others listed here that include verification.

VeriSign offered certificates of a higher Class (that is, with identity verification). A Class 2 Digital ID means the user's identity has been verified to some extent. But, you couldn't easily get certificates above Class 1 from VeriSign except as part of a larger package of security services. It is unclear what Symantec now offers in this realm.

This is a link to a basic digital certificate called My Credential from GeoTrust, with telephone verification of identity and a low price of $20. You might see the Equifax name in their certificates; GeoTrust spun off Equifax years ago. It was then purchased by VeriSign, which is now owned by Symantec. Strangely, there is a notice on GeoTrust's page that Mozilla software will no longer trust their My Credential certificates, with no further explanation, and a link directing you to buy a Verisign Digital ID (which was a bad link until it was fixed last month). For this reason, it appears GeoTrust is no longer serious about e-mail signing certificates, and you should strongly consider getting yours from another vendor on this page.

Here is a company that offers different levels of digital certificates ranging from $20 to $249 per year, all on one page. Again, the difference is in the level of verification conducted. By purchasing a certificate with higher verification, you can provide that much greater assurance to recipients of the authenticity of e-mails you send. Like Symantec, the $20 certificate has no verification. Unlike Symantec, you can easily acquire certificates with verification through their website. Notice that, although they are a separate company, they make reference in their table to what appears to be the same classification system (in the row labeled "Digital ID Class") created by VeriSign.

Another well-known provider, offering different levels of e-mail digital signing certificates.

This first link is for individuals. It requires no verification, and therefore provides the lowest level of assurance. The cost is $20 per year. Frankly, you would only use this if you have some reason not to use a free offering from another provider for a non-verified certificate.

The next link is for certificates that go for $45 per year, and do require verification of your and your company's identity and ownership of your e-mail address. These are offered only with a minimum purchase of five certificates, but come with some extra services mostly related to encryption, which might be of interest to a small company with otherwise unmanaged e-mail security.