Read the certificate a live site is serving right now - who issued it, when it expires, and every name it covers.

The host name as visitors type it.
Optional. Handy when you are checking a server you are about to hand over.
Working

You get back

  • Common name and any additional names on the certificate
  • Issuing authority and certificate type
  • Valid-from and valid-to dates
  • Whether the chain your server sends is complete

Checking before you renew

Run this against a site a few weeks before its certificate expires and you will know exactly what you are replacing: which authority issued it, which names it covers, and whether the existing installation had a chain problem worth fixing at the same time.

Checking someone else's server

Everything this reads is public - it is the same information any browser sees when it connects. You can point it at any host without permission, and nothing you check is recorded.