The provisioning process was quick and painless but did require some manual configuration.  The root certificate was not included in Firefox 2 and had to be manually installed.  CACert is currently working to get these included in Firefox 3 when it is released.

A basic, business and personal use Class 1 certificate was available immediately.  This is usable for encryption, signing and browser authentication.  Users can then choose to have their identity verified through a free Web of Trust points based system to gain a Class 3 certificate.  The WoT network is not as advanced as thawte’s (e.g. only 1 notary within 30 minutes drive of my current location) but they do give you points for a verified thawte identity so this is not as big an issue as it first appears.  You also have a Trusted Third Party option if WoT doesn’t adequately cover your area.  Certificates for SSL server use and code signing are also available, though the code signing certificates (justifiably) have higher identity verification requirements.

The provisioning process was quick and painless, with all relevant root certificates already installed within the browser so no additional configuration was required.

A basic, personal use Class 1 certificate was available immediately.  This is usable for encryption, signing, and browser authentication.  Users can then choose to have their identity verified through a free Web of Trust points based system, which is a pre-requisite for adding your name to the certificate.  thawte’s WoT network was the most complete out of all those reviewed (e.g. 5 notaries are within a 30 min drive of my current location) and a Trusted Third Party option is available if your area isn’t supported as well as mine.  Certificates for business use or code signing capabilities are available for a fee.

The provisioning process was very quick (its required to log into the management UI) but did require some manual configuration.  The root certificate appeared to be present but an intermediary certificate was missing and had to be installed.  The management interface is a little buggy but nothing that can’t be resolved by re-attempting a failed operation.

A basic, business and personal use Class 1 certificate was available immediately.  This is usable for encryption and digital signing, but wasn’t recognised during browser authentication tests with any site other than StartSSL.  Users can then choose to have their identity verified through a free Web of Trust points based system, but the WoT network is just starting up (e.g. there are no notaries in my state) so you will likely have to resort to the Trusted Third Party option instead.  Certificates for SSL server use and code signing are also available, as are paid certificates if you are using certificates for significant business purposes.

The provisioning process was quick and painless, with all relevant root certificates already installed within the browser so no additional configuration was required.

A basic, personal use Class 1 certificate was the only free option available.  This is usable for encryption, and signing.  Certificates for business use, verification of identity, ability to authenticate with a website, or code signing are available for a fee.

Comodo Personal Email Certificates also appear to be resold by InstantSSL, and Wosign (Asian language specialist).

The provisioning process was quick but did require some manual configuration.  The root certificate appeared to be present but an intermediary certificate was missing and had to be installed.

A basic, personal use Class 1 certificate was the only free option available.  This is usable for encryption, signing, and browser authentication.  Certificates for business use, verification of identity, or code signing are available for a fee.

The provisioning process was quick but did require some manual configuration.  The root certificate was missing and had to be installed.  Once the root certificate was installed there still seemed to be some intermediary certificates missing so the full trust chain could not be verified.  The certificates are issued by Microsoft Certificate Server and the website claims to be IE only, but worked OK with Firefox 2.

A basic, personal use Class 1 certificate was the only free option available.  This is usable for encryption, and signing.  If you send a signed email to the support address they will provide you with a code signing certificate without further proof of your identity, which is a little disconcerting.  Certificates for business use, verification of identity, or ability to authenticate with a website are available for a fee.