Hello iang,

>> "This is not something an average business owner -- or technician --
>> would discover. It takes some sophistication," he said, adding that the
>> practice appears to be limited to VeriSign.

Its not limited to verisign. It is also practiced by Geotrust.

In any case, a basic cert and a premium cert from Geotrust are one and the same. They advertise that you get a secure seal on a premium cert which provides "enhanced verification", whatever that is.

The seal is really a Geotrust advertisement placed on your site that is linked to a choicepoint database that lists the cert owner. Oh yes, they are deep in bed with choicepoint. That should make you feel safer! haha

Anyway, what they don't tell you is that the seal code you embed in your webpage works the same on both cert types i.e. the basic/quick certs and premium certs.

Go figure. Get the cheaper basic cert and save some money. The cert industry makes me puke. I feel we need a complete paradigm shift away from these providers to something that makes them useless and irrelevant, but in the meantime I can make good money from them.