From correspondents in Karnataka, India, 11:00 AM IST

The latest version of the Mozilla Firefox Web browser features advanced security protections that can help Mozilla’s 175 million users from unwittingly giving sensitive information to e-criminals. That’s because Mozilla Firefox 3, launched today as part of a global download event, supports Extended Validation (EV) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates from CA vendors including VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world.

When Internet users visit a site protected by VeriSign EV SSL Certificates, the "Site Identity" button attached to the location bar changes colour to indicate the level of identity information provided, offering immediate reassurance that they’ve reached a site whose authenticity has or has not been verified by VeriSign.

That kind of assurance is essential on today’s Internet, where identity thieves frequently lure consumers to convincing impostor Web pages. Such fraudulent pages are a common tool for e-criminals bent on stealing sensitive personal information, from passwords to Social Security Numbers. According to Netcraft, the number of sites live with EV SSL Certificates has surpassed 6,000.

Since 2004, the Firefox community has grown to more than 175 million users. Firefox is available in 50 languages and used in every country in the world. Because Internet Explorer 7 also supports VeriSign EV SSL Certificates, the protection offered by Extended Validation now is available to even more Internet users.

By deploying VeriSign EV SSL Certificates, online banks, retailers and other businesses help build trust and confidence among consumers by offering them immediate and visible assurance that they are dealing with reputable e-commerce sites. In addition to the green address bar, Firefox 3 also displays other visual cues, including a new field that contains the name of the organisation that owns the site as well as the security provider that issued the certificate, such as VeriSign. To learn more about VeriSign EV SSL, visit http://www.verisign.com/EV-SSL

“To shield Web users from online crime rings that are rapidly evolving in sophistication and reach, Web domains worldwide are protected with VeriSign EV SSL certificates,” said Tim Callan, vice president of SSL product marketing at VeriSign. “With today’s release of Firefox 3, the Firefox developer community is ensuring that millions more Internet users enjoy the most advanced and comprehensive protection against theft via phishing and Web page frauds. Now there’s more reason than ever for businesses and organisations to deploy VeriSign EV SSL Certificates on their sites.”

Source: Press Release Distribution via India PRwire