That's the joke

More specifically, Comodo's defense of that included "We did a 30 day free SSL certificate first! Let's Encrypt is copying our business model!"

The free certificate they were referring to was a time-limited free trial that you could use once and then start paying for.

They are truly amazing. Every time I think they've scraped the bottom of either the incompetence or the sleaze barrels, Comodo manages to get even worse.

One of their sales droids hassled me a while back with some deeply slimy tactics, so I started grilling him about this and the various hacks they've had. Flat out lied about ever having had unauthorized certs made, and claimed he'd never heard of LE, but he just knew they'd never do that, and I must have bad information. (The first part of the second part I can believe.)

Who knows, maybe Comodo could come back after some strategic executive-ectomies. Microsoft seems to be trying hard to rejoin the ranks of the not-outstandingly-terrible. But as of now, I have serious doubts I'd ever choose their services over someone more trustworthy, like, say, Bernie Madoff.