A lot of websites that could otherwise use SSL encryption don't because web browsers issue scary warnings when a SSL certificated is not signed by a trusted Certificate Authority. SSL certificates can be expensive and not every website owner is willing to pay for something a lot of users won't even notice.<p>Don't get me wrong: I understand the use of Certificate Authorities for establishing trust relationships. However, I believe that this mechanism should be an additional layer on top of SSL (like it should be). Sometimes, simple encryption is good enough to prevent passive packet sniffing.<p>What do you think: is the SSL business a scam ?
Ask HN: Is the SSL/Certificate Authority business a scam?