SSL Doesn't really protect against a MitMA. In hindsight, this method really doesn't either. However, this method does provide some level of obscurity to your password which is good, but in no means does it replace the need for SSL certs.

A VPN tunnel or something similar would be a much safer bet. I really should have made the episode more around the ability to have a secure communicate between two users or something. Yes, a  trusted Certificate Authority does issue SSL certificates to someone when they can verify a level of ownership to a domain.