In this article, we’re going to talk about website protocols like HTTP, secure HTTP, and SSL. (HTTPS vs HTTP vs SSL)
What is Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http)?
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. HTTP is possibly the most widely used protocol nowadays in the world. for Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol that is used for viewing website pages on the internet. As soon we type in a web address, like google.com, you’ll be observed that HTTP is automatically added at the start of the web address. This means that you are now using HTTP to retrieve this website.
In standard HTTP protocol, all the data is sent in clear text format. So, all the information that is exchanged among your computer and web server, includes any text that you type on that web page, which means information is transferred over the public internet. Its transferred in clear text, it’s susceptible to anybody who wants it, such as hackers.
If you were just browsing on regular websites (News, sports or other informative), usually this would not be a big deal because no sensitive data such as passwords or credit card information are being used. If we going to type in personal sensitive data, like your name, address, phone number, passwords, or credit card information, that sensitive data goes from your computer and then it has to travel across the public internet to get to that web server. This makes your data hackable because a hacker that anywhere on the internet can get in as that data is being shifted and can hack your information.
What is Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (https)?
HTTPS stands for Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol. This is a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) with a security feature. Secure HTTP encrypts the data that is being retrieved by HTTP. It ensures that all the data that’s being transferred over the internet between computers and servers, is secure by making the data encrypted. It does this by using encryption algorithms to scramble the data that’s being transferred.
For example, if you have opened a website that requires personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers, you will notice that ‘S’ will be added to the HTTPS in the web address. This ‘S’ means that we are using secure HTTP and we have entered data in a secure website. Where sensitive data is going to be passed and that data is going to be protected.
So, if a hacker were to try and steal your information, he would get a bunch of worthless data because the data is encrypted. Hackers would not be able to decrypt/crack the encryption to get the data.
What is a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), is a protocol that’s used to safeguard security on the internet. It uses public key encryption to secure data. When a computer connects to a website that’s using SSL, the computer’s web browser will ask the website to identify itself. Then the web server will send the computer a copy of its SSL certificate. SSL certificate is a small digital certificate that is used to authenticate the identity of a website. Basically, it’s used to let your computer know that the website you’re visiting is trustworthy. Then the computer’s browser will check to make sure that it trusts the certificate.
