Certificate
Digital ID used for SSL transactions. It includes owner's public key, the name of the owner, the issuer, hostname, and the expiration date.
Certificates are Issued by a Certificate Authority (such as Equifax, Thawte or Verisign) , a Secure Certificate (also known as a Digital Certificate) is proof that a Web site is linked to a legitimate business, with a physical address and phone number. It is the job of the Certificate Authority to verify the identity of merchants and issue each a digital or authentication certificate.