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In an effort to combat phishing attacks, the CA/Browser forum has come up with an extended validation certificate for websites. You'll have to verify your business isn't just a Post Office box and a server in Russia to get validated.
The Forum has developed guidelines for Extended Validation SSL certificates that are far more robust than traditional SSL certificates. They will suddenly become much more important to consumers in January, when Microsoft begins using them with IE7 to verify that sites are safe to use. A green address bar will alert consumers to the fact that the site is approved with an EV certificate, and the CA/Browser Forum has made sure that these are not simple to obtain. That's good news for sites that can get one, but not so good for small businesses, which generally cannot.
So now we have a secret handshake and internet pig latin code and a teeny padlock to tell us when we're being robbed.
I'm old, so I remember when the police used to, you know, find evidence of crimes, and catch the bad people and put them in jail. Now we just pile on authentication icons until the whole screen is covered with them.
