Cheap SSL Certificate Guide

Issue: You need to encrypt traffic with SSL by utilizing a cert from a recognized third party certificate authority and you’d like to do it ‘on the cheap’.
Solution: Your first step in obtaining an SSL cert is to purchase a “certificate credit”.  Below is a list of the cheap SSL certificate products that I have had a positive experience implementing as well as details on the best type of certificate to choose for your situation.

Uber-Cheapest (but reputable) SSL cert resellers:

namecheap logo is my ‘go-to’ reseller when I need a BIG discount on Comodo or GeoTrust SSL Certificates.  Using name brand certs instills user confidence and browser compatibility.cheap ssl  Namecheap, is as the name implies, really cheap with certs starting at $9.00 for a “single-domain” Comodo PositiveSSL certificate.

Which of NameCheap’s Comodo SSL certificates should I choose?
If you are running Exchange 2007, 2010 or 2013 you will choose the Comodo PositiveSSL Multi-Domain (UCC) Certificate or the Comodo PositiveSSL Wildcard Certificate (if your AD domain name is identical to your internet domain name then you can use a Wildcard cert).  If you are running Exchange 2003 or are installing the cert on a web server like IIS then you can generally go with the $9.00 ‘single-domain’ Comodo PositiveSSL certificate.  Now it should be crystal clear whether you need a single domain, multi-domain (UCC), or wildcard certificate.

Once you purchase a certificate credit (above), use the following instructions to create a cert request (CSR) to submit to your Certificate Authority.

How to prepare a certificate request on Exchange 2016

How to prepare a certificate request on Exchange 2013

How to prepare a certificate request on Windows 2008 R2 / IIS 7.5

How to prepare a certificate request on Exchange 2003 / Windows 2003 / IIS 6