The idea that paying for something somehow makes it more trust worthy is a bit of a farce, the whole system of commercial paid for certs was a bad idea, and is

The idea that paying for something somehow makes it more trust worthy is a bit of a farce, the whole system of commercial paid for certs was a bad idea, and is being propped up by those that have a financial interest in keeping it going. EV certs cost a crazy amount, and the issuers tout an exhaustive validation process, but it isn't actually that hard to get a fake one issues. use a process very similar to one covered here (https://www.cyberscoop.com/easy-fake-extended-validation-certificates-research-shows/ https://www.cyberscoop.com/easy-fake-extended-validation-cer...) I think having the free SSL option has allowed a lot of sites to move to a more secure web.