SSL, short for Secure Sockets Layer, is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. And that encrypted link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and secure. SSL is an industry standard and is used by millions of websites in the protection of their online transactions with their customers. On top of that, in fact, SSL digital certificate is a new online identity that makes the website legit and authentic. In short, if you are doing some serious online business, it’s important to have the digital certificate for your site.

As a consumer who shops online very often, it’s also important to know how to check the details about the certificate issued to the site you are visiting before going further. And here is how you can do it in Chrome.

When you are on an SSL-enabled site, click the green lock icon in front of the URL that starts with https, and details link from the panel that pops up.

/Update on Feb. 1, 2017/

Chrome version 56 seems to have removed this Details link from the popup. You can still press F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I to bring up the Developer Tools and go to Security tab instead.

Then click the View certificate button on the Developer Tools panel that opens up, either at the bottom of the website or on the right side.

Here is a certificate detail dialog box looks like. Check it out carefully to make sure the site you are visiting is legit and safe to browse or to do business with.

You can also use something like SSL Checker to validate the SSL certificate as well. With SSL Checker which essentially is to help the sysadmins to diagnose problems with SSL certificate installations, you can also verify the SSL certificate on your web server to make sure it  is correctly installed, valid, trusted and doesn’t give any errors to any of your users.