Learning HTTP, HTTPS & TLS/SSL

Thanks for joining me for a brief overview over learning what is HTTP, HTTPS & TLS/SSL. This page is here to share quick definitions and video explanations of the subject – it’s basically a quick learning page made to save time sourcing the information myself and yourself.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a variant of the standard web transfer protocol (HTTP) that adds a layer of security on the data in transit through a secure socket layer (SSL) or transport layer security (TLS) protocol connection.

Google Support

So basically HTTP is Hypertext Transfer Protocol which is what browsers and servers use to talk to each other, the issue is that HTTP is NOT secure – meaning someone can work their way in to the middle of the computer communications to view and potentially steal and sensitive personal  information. When we add the S in to make it HTTPS, otherwise know as with SSL the secure socket layer or TLS the transport layer security – this S adds a layer of security to stop any simple interception of sensitive information.

Below is a quick video explaining HTTP & HTTPS. This simple explanation should help you grasp the basics.

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Moving on to SSL & TLS in more detail…

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral

Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a protocol that provides authentication, privacy, and data integrity between two communicating computer applications. … TLS evolved from Netscape’s Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol and has largely superseded it, although the terms SSL or SSL/TLS are still sometimes used.

The secure part to HTTPS has evolved over time, from SSL Secure Sockets Layer to the now more commonly used TLS Transport Layer Security. Both protocols are secure, with encrypted links communicating between the browser and server – although TLS is more developed and therefore sophisticated (Explain this….)

Here is another video is explaining SSL & TLS.

Included in this post (in the Editing code section) is the HTML code used to included quotes, videos and images within the post. These are all evidence of coding with HTML, while the use of WordPress is to show my use of a Content Management System for a website/blog.

Thanks for reading and I hope that I have managed to help you understand the basics of HTTP & HTTPS.