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Am I allowed to keep my private WHOIS when buying SSL?

If your domain name is registered BY PROXY or the WHOIS information is not publicly displayed, you may either send us a screenshot of the control panel for your domain displaying your actual information, or ask your domain registrar for a letter acknowledging your domain ownership.

The fastest option is to temporarily disable the private WHOIS service while an SSL certificate is issued. Once you have the RSA key, you can turn the private WHOIS back on, and then resume with the certificate installation.

The Domain Validated SSL Certificate (Positive SSL) will make your location (i.e. city, state, zip), organization name, and company name available to the public. All other information (e.g. physical address, phone number and email) will remain private.

Please Note: For our InstantSSL, which is a company validated SSL certificate, Comodo (our SSL provider) requires that your company's address and other information be displayed in the SSL certification itself.

This is a function of the validation that Comodo performs to prove that your site is secure. While you can enable private WHOIS after the SSL is issued, the information will still be in the certificate. This is typical of most "Company Validated" SSL Certifications on the market.

If you are wanting to keep this information private, it is recommended that you get the Positive SSL instead.

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About SSL

SSLSSL and Secure Certificates provide security for your website by encrypting communications between the server and the person visiting the website. It is required to be used on e-commerce sites when accepting credit card payments online.

HostGator Business and Enterprise hosting plans include a Comodo Private SSL Certificate. Several types of SSL Certificates are also available for purchase separately from HostGator and can be added to most hosting plans. 
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Article Comments

Kris Bell
This information was enough to convince me to move my domains to HG. My old registrar had placed a whois privacy on my domain without my permission and slowed my application process. Be sure it's visible!
Posted: March 22, 2011
HostGator
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Posted: December 13, 2011 (Global Reply)
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