Though the certificate of deposit, or CD, may seem like a generic and straightforward savings account, there's more diversity to this financial tool than may immediately meet the eye. CDs can be particularly useful when interest rates are on the rise, and there's a lot to like about earning a fixed interest rate over time. Balancing out the appeal of CDs' predictability and security, however, is a major tradeoff: Your deposit is locked up for a set period of time, and an early withdrawal will subject you to fees.

Depositing money in a CD will usually generate earn more interest than a savings account -- even a high-yield savings account -- or money market account. And there are plenty of types of CDs to choose from. Read on for an overview of them all.

What is a CD?

A CD is a type of savings account that pays a fixed interest rate for a fixed term. The main difference between a CD and a savings account or money market account is that you can't take your money out of a CD until it has been in the account for a set amount of time, called a term. Common terms include three, six, nine and 18 months as well as one, two, three, four and five years.

Typically, the longer you leave your money untouched in a CD, the more interest you will earn. CDs are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 if taken out of a federally insured credit union or bank. CDs don't have monthly fees, but most have an early withdrawal penalty. 

Traditional CD

To open a traditional CD, you make a one-time deposit, then leave the funds to grow until the CD matures for a specific term at a fixed interest rate. Once the CD matures or reaches the end of the term, you can roll your CD into another term or cash out. One of the major downsides to a CD is early withdrawal penalties. If you pull out your cash before it matures, you can face a hefty penalty that can make any interest earned appear nonexistent. 

Callable CD

Some CDs are structured so that the issuer can close the CD before its maturity date. This type of CD is called a callable CD. You generally want to invest in a CD that is not callable because it protects your money from being taken back by the issuer. But if you're investing in a callable CD and the bank does redeem it before it has reached maturity, you'll still receive your full principal and the interest it has earned to date.

However, you may be most at risk of the bank taking back your CD early if interest rates suddenly drop. Callable CDs are still rare and may be harder to find than traditional CDs. The callable feature can only be enacted by the issuer.

IRA CD

An IRA CD is held in a tax-advantaged individual retirement account to help you save money for retirement. An IRA CD works much like a traditional CD but there are a couple of notable differences, including how much you can invest and withdrawal penalties. 

When it comes to a traditional CD, you can deposit any amount of money in a CD account, lock it up for a predetermined length of time and earn a higher return on your investment than you would with a savings or checking account. 

However, your IRA CD is a tax-advantaged retirement account, which means you can save and invest your money in several different ways. Since an IRA CD is partly an IRA, you will have the same rules and requirements as other IRA accounts, such as the amount you can contribute. Individuals under 50 can contribute up to $6,000 and individuals over 50 can contribute up to $7,000. 

If you try to withdraw money from a traditional CD before it matures, you will inevitably face an early withdrawal penalty. However, if you try to withdraw early from your IRA CD, you will face a penalty from your bank and the IRS. 

Foreign currency CD

A foreign currency CD is held in another country's currency. You might want a foreign currency CD if you think the dollar will decline against other currencies. Or, you may want to invest in other currencies because they are expected to go up against the dollar. With a foreign CD, the money is converted into another currency for the term; the funds earn interest in that currency, and the money is converted back to dollars at the maturity date.

Brokered CD

A brokered CD is bought and sold on the secondary market through a brokerage account. These time-deposit savings products are similar to traditional CDs, but they are more liquid because they are traded like bonds. 

Zero-coupon CD

A zero-coupon CD doesn't make periodic interest payments like a traditional CD at a fixed rate. Instead, it's sold at a discount from its face value, which equals its value once it reaches maturity. The CD holder only receives the face value of the CD when it matures. These are typically long-term investments, meaning you won't get access to the interest earned until the CD matures.

Jumbo CD

A jumbo CD requires a minimum deposit of about $100,000. A $95,000 CD may be technically a "jumbo CD," but it might not earn as much as a $105,000 CD. Jumbo CDs -- and super jumbo CDs, which require a minimum investment of $250,000 or more -- often pay higher interest rates than regular CDs. But in the current near-zero interest rate environment, jumbo CDs are not earning significantly higher yields than regular CDs.

Bump-up CD

A bump-up CD allows the depositor to request an increase in the interest rate. If the interest rates of CDs rise, the depositor can request that their existing certificate of deposit be "bumped up" to the new interest rate -- as long as the rates offered by the bank for the specific bump-up CD also rise. Banks typically allow one bump-up per term.

Add-on CD

Just as the name suggests, an add-on CD allows money to be added to the account balance after the initial deposit. Money is deposited at the beginning of the term, and then additional deposits are permitted throughout the term. The interest rate remains the same even when money is added, and there are no monthly fees, but there is usually an early withdrawal penalty when money is removed.

Step-up CD

With a step-up CD, you can lock in an interest rate for a set number of months, but a predefined rate increase will happen automatically on scheduled dates. Like other CD accounts, there are no monthly fees but early withdrawals are subject to a penalty.

Liquid CD

A liquid CD does not charge a penalty for early withdrawals, making it more like a savings account than a standard CD. Like a combination savings account/CD hybrid account, you can withdraw the funds in a liquid CD at any time by contacting the bank, credit union or other financial institution where you bought the CD. But this privilege may come at a cost. Liquid CDs typically pay a lower interest rate than other types of CDs because they allow penalty-free access to the funds.

First, you generally can only make one penalty-free withdrawal. After that, you'll likely face the same early withdrawal penalty as with a traditional CD. Second, some sellers place a limit on how much you can withdraw from a liquid CD at one time -- before penalties kick in, so be sure to always read the fine print. 

High-yield CD

A high-yield CD, which may also be called a high-interest CD or high-earning CD, is a type of CD that can pay a higher interest rate than a standard savings account. But the amount of interest you earn varies over time -- as interest rates fluctuate -- unlike a fixed-rate CD. High-yield CDs are generally found at online banks and credit unions, which may offer you slightly higher yields to win your business. 

One of the most important parts of saving money is deciding where to keep your funds, which can be pretty tricky in an oversaturated market. Depending on your savings goals, you may consider opening a certificate of deposit, or CD, if you're looking for a predictable investment. With a CD, rates are locked in right off the bat, making them low-risk -- but they're not without their limitations. CDs come with withdrawal penalties and finite liquidity, so you need to consider what matters the most for you and your investment before jumping in. 

What is a certificate of deposit?

A certificate of deposit is a type of savings account that pays interest on a fixed deposit for a fixed term, such as six months, one year or five years. CDs tend to have higher interest rates than a traditional savings account but don't allow easy access to your money. You'll incur a penalty if you withdraw your funds before the term ends. Keep in mind, however, the longer you leave your money untouched in a CD, the more interest you'll earn. 

How does a certificate of deposit work?

When you open a CD at a bank or credit union, the bank agrees to leave your money on deposit for a predetermined period of time, also known as a term. The term is the time you agree to keep your money in the CD, and you'll typically see terms ranging from 30 days to 10 years.

When deciding what length of CD term to choose, you should consider your plans for the money. If you're saving for a specific goal with a known timeline, you'll want to choose a CD term that matches the timeline. If you want to earn a higher interest rate on your savings and can withstand your money tied up for a while, you may want to choose a longer term.

If you open a CD with a five-year term, you're promising the bank that you'll leave your money in the account for five years. Once your CD reaches the end of its term, your CD is considered mature. At this point, you can either withdraw your money or renew the CD.

It is possible to withdraw funds early from most CDs, but you'll face a steep penalty. The exact penalty will depend on the terms and length of your CD, but early withdrawals tend to eat up any interest earned. There are exceptions with no-penalty (liquid) CDs. Flexibility comes at a cost, however, because liquid CDs typically pay lower interest rates to make room for penalty-free access to your funds. 

How do CD interest rates work?

The interest rate associated with a CD is noted as APY, or annual percentage yield. This is the total interest you'd earn on your CD deposit over the course of a year. Like savings accounts, CDs earn compound interest -- or interest on interest. With compounding interest, you're earning interest off the principal deposit and the increasing interest. 

How do certificates of deposit differ from savings accounts?

CDs are different than traditional savings accounts in several ways:

• CDs typically pay more interest than traditional savings accounts. CDs usually offer a higher rate than savings accounts, but they also have a fixed rate of return regardless of whether interest rates rise during the term. CDs offer higher rates in exchange for limited to no access to that money.
• CD rates are fixed; savings account rates fluctuate. CDs are a low-risk investment because they have a guaranteed rate of return. If you open a CD when interest rates are high, your interest rate will remain the same even if the interest rate on a savings account drops.
• You can't access your money in a CD without facing a penalty. You'll face a penalty if you withdraw your funds from a CD before the term is up. You can deposit and withdraw as much money as you want with a savings account. 

Should I get a certificate of deposit?

CDs are low-risk investments that guarantee a rate of return. The predictability of CDs makes it easier to calculate what you'll walk away with because the APY is typically fixed, meaning you'll earn the same rate for the entire term.

Aside from predictability, CDs are one of the safest places to store cash, as long as the bank is federally insured. Banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and credit unions insured by the National Credit Union Administration protect your money if your bank goes bankrupt. You're covered up to $250,000 per depositor, FDIC-insured bank and ownership category. 

However, a CD isn't the best option for every investment. Once your funds are locked in, you can't take the money out until the term length is over without facing a penalty, making it a risky investment for an emergency fund. Your emergency funds are better off in an account with more liquidity, like a savings account or money market account.

It's also worth considering the consequences of low-risk investment. Although CDs offer a relatively stable place to stash cash, they have lower yields than you may earn by investing in the stock market. If you're looking for a higher rate of return, consider investing in something riskier, like a high-yielding money market account or savings bond. 

You also run the risk of losing purchasing power with inflation. Its possible inflation will rise above the interest rate you earn on the CD. If that happens, your money won't retain its value over time.

The bottom line

Different types of savings accounts offer different levels of risk and rates of return. CDs come in handy when you're looking for a low-risk investment, but it's essential to shop around and see what kind of CD rates and terms different banks are offering before you lock your money away.

Nonprofit certificate authority Let’s Encrypt hit a major milestone earlier this month: it issued its three billionth HTTPS certificate.

The Let’s Encrypt project was founded in 2013 to provide websites with free SSL and TLS certificates needed to enable HTTPS and encrypted communications. The organization, run by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) and backed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, issued its first HTTPS certificate in September 2015 for none other than its own domain.

The ISRG announced this week that Let’s Encrypt issued its three billionth certificate earlier this month and is now providing TLS to more than 309 million domains, an increase of 12% compared to the year earlier.

While Let’s Encrypt took five years to issue its billionth certificate, it has reached the three billion milestone just two years later.

The ISRG also revealed in its 2022 annual report that 82% of web pages loaded by Firefox are using HTTPS globally. When Let’s Encrypt was founded, only 38% of website page loads were served over an HTTPS-encrypted connection.

This growth comes as Let’s Encrypt finds itself trusted and integrated by more significant players in the browser, operating system and cloud markets, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Oracle and more.

So what’s next for Let’s Encrypt? The organization is aiming to make certificate renewal far easier for websites, especially if the organization is forced to revoke a certificate, such as if a website’s server is compromised. Let’s Encrypt was forced to revoke more than three million certificates because of a bug in its domain validation and issuance software in March 2020, and in January this year revoked millions of active certificates due to “irregularities” in the code.

ISRG executive director Josh Aas said its new specification for renewing certificates is “making its way through the IETF standards process so that the whole ecosystem can benefit, and we plan to deploy it in production at Let’s Encrypt shortly.”

Let’s Encrypt’s ultimate goal is to bring the web up to a 100% encryption rate. While we’re still a ways away, this latest milestone suggests it’s more in reach than ever before.

Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.

© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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From the December 2022 issue of Car and Driver.

Wide, wedgy, and outrageous, the Countach wasn't the first Lamborghini, but Marcello Gandini's jaw-dropping design created the archetype the company has followed ever since. No new Countach could ever match the original in terms of the awestruck reaction that greeted the vehicle,

To answer it, we drove the LPI 800-4 alongside a historic Countach from Lamborghini's own collection. This 1990 25th Anniversary Edition is the final original Countach built, and it's normally exhibited in the factory museum. With just 6000 miles, it's practically box-fresh. As the last version of the first Countach, it's the most appropriate example to match with the new car.

Park them next to each other, and the differences are at least as obvious as the similarities. The LPI 800-4 Countach sits on the Aventador's platform and shares its carbon-fiber tub. Years of evolution make it bigger in every plane. Yet there is also a visual kinship across the decades, with the LPI 800-4 clearly an homage rather than an attempted replica.

Mitja Borkert, Lamborghini's design director, was able to riff on themes from throughout the Countach's long life. There's an LP5000S-like front end (despite the absence of pop-up headlights), hexagonal wheel arches, and raised air intakes reminiscent of the mid-'80s Quattrovalvole. According to the principles of modern car design, the new Countach features better proportions and more harmonious details than the clad-and-straked 25th Anniversary. But the older car is the one you can't stop looking at.

In performance, it isn't even close to being close. The LPI 800-4 gets the brawniest version of the Aventador's magnificent 6.5-liter V-12, along with the supercapacitor hybrid system used in the Sián hypercar. The car drives like a turned-up Aventador, as the all-wheel-drive system delivers massive thrust with assurance. The closer the engine gets to its 8700-rpm limit, the angrier and more savage it becomes. While the electric motor's modest 34-hp contribution is indiscernible from the V-12's 769 horsepower, its torque does smooth the single-clutch automated manual's gear changes, which are far less brutal than in the Aventador. Like every other modern Lambo, the LPI 800-4 has selectable drive modes, with the punchiest Corsa setting making it feel impressively wieldy on the small, tight 1.3-mile Autodromo di Modena we used for photography.

By comparison, the original Countach is woeful. The cramped cockpit is uncomfortable, and all but the shortest pilots will find their head grazing the roof, even with the seat in its lowest and most reclined position. It hails from a period before ergonomic considerations in supercars, and the driving position is heavily offset toward the center of the car due to the intrusion of the front wheel well. The footwell is so packed with its three pedals that there's nowhere to put a resting clutch foot. The dogleg gearshift features a foldable tab to prevent a first-to-reverse flubbed shift; in a good indication of the cabin designers' priorities, it sits ahead of a huge ashtray.

Rated at 449 horsepower, the old car's V-12 is quieter at startup than the LPI 800-4's and idles with a carbureted wuffle. U.S. Countaches as early as '83 models got Bosch fuel injection to meet emission regs, but European models stuck with six Webers until the end. The throttle pedal is light, and response is immediate and keen. The engine pulls cleanly from low down and with impressive vigor as revs rise. It sounds great too—much softer than the newer car, with valvetrain clatter audible over the exhaust.

Yet everything else is just so much hard work. The clutch is a leg-press machine set to Lou Ferrigno. The unassisted steering is so heavy at maneuvering speeds that turning the wheel is painful. Even once the car is moving, tight corners bring it back to full Hulk weighting, and in Autodromo's tight corners, few of the apexes are even grazed, let alone clipped. Between-corner speeds are limited by stopping rather than going, and the brake pedal's mushy responses impart none of the confidence you'd want when pushing a valuable supercar on a tight track. Does it have ABS? Our chaperone, Mario Fasanetto, who started at Lamborghini in 1985 building Countach engines and today is the company's chief test driver, just laughs.

The team in Sant'Agata never designed the Countach for the track, and it shows. The car is vastly better on roads, especially fast highways from the days when European limits were either nonexistent or largely discretionary for supercar owners. The 25th Anniversary's claimed 183-mph top speed was likely just Ferrari baiting—the top speed we observed in a 1983 Countach 5000S was 160 mph. But even traveling at the lower velocities of the tamer 21st century, the Countach has the solid, planted feel you want for serious cruising pace.

Reaching a mountain road gives the modern car another chance to prove its dynamic superiority. The Strada Provinciale 26 near the Modenese village of Samone is a quiet road that combines hairpins and scenic views. It's a backdrop that draws all the local supercar makers (we've previously been here with Ferrari and Pagani, as well as Lamborghini). But the Countaches have it to themselves today. After the vein-popping workout of the 25th Anniversary model, the new car feels lighter and more agile than a V-12 Lamborghini has any right to.

The original Countach is one of those cars that is awesome both despite and because of its flaws. Justifying its divinity requires the sort of tortuous logic that corrupt medieval priests would employ to render the unholy holy, and even one of the less loved versions of this unarguable icon still offers an unforgettable experience. By contrast, the LPI 800-4 feels too good—too well-engineered and slick to be a true successor to such a flawed gem, regardless of the new car's handsome design. It's a Countach, but it will never be the Countach.