Certification authority Comodo (comodo.com) has officially made its anti-phishing and identity insurance technology available for free to toolbar and security solutions providers all over the world.

Created by Comodo's global research and development operation, the main structure of the content verification certificate is similar to the popular and trustworthy SSL based e-commerce framework currently used by many e-commerce providers. Yet, where the SSL version underpins the Internet 's framework, CVCs provide trust within the content passing through that framework.

"The theory behind Content Verification Certificates became one of the most anticipated technological breakthroughs in security on the Internet in recent years" says Steve Roylance, vice president of global technical marketing for Comodo "What we've effectively achieved is to transfer the success of the hologram for identity assurance on to the Internet, allowing providers large and small a method to establish trust with their customers."

Available as an add-on to Internet Explorer, the Verification Engine stand-alone product is compatible with 3rd party tool bars such as those on eBay, Alexa and Google, ensuring that the toolbar is secure, and protecting the user against potential graphical replacements.