You must have come across the words ‘HTTP and ‘HTTPS’ at some point or another. You must have seen the green padlock on your Internet browser. This lock signifies an HTTPS protocol.
So why do some website URLs begin with HTTP and some with HTTPS?
This is a common question many clients ask during their initial consultation with our web development Cardiff agency.
You must have come across the words ‘HTTP and ‘HTTPS’ at some point or another. You must have seen the green padlock on your Internet browser. This lock signifies an HTTPS protocol.
So why do some website URLs begin with HTTP and some with HTTPS?
This is a common question many clients ask during their initial consultation with our web development Cardiff agency.
HTTP, short for HyperText Transfer Protocol, is a set of rules sharing information (text, images video, sound and other media) on the Internet.
HTTPS is nothing but a secure version of HTTP. When a website uses HTTPS, it essentially means that the information shared over the website is protected and hence cannot be intercepted by intruders. HTTPS helps keep your credit card information, passwords and communications secure from your computer to the servers you are sending the data to.
What is HTTPS?
HTTPS essentially takes the standard HTTP protocol and adds a layer of encryption (known as SSL) on the top. The client systems and servers use the same HTTP when talking to each other but the connection is secure, which encrypts the data.
The SSL layer serves two purposes:
- To verify that you are communicating directly with the server you think you are connected to.
- To ensure that the information you send is ready only by the intended server and only you can read the information it sends back.
How HTTPS works
HTTPS aims to encrypt the data you send and receive to ensure that no one but the intended recipient is able to read the data. This is a wonderful way to secure your personal information. So when you are shopping online and sharing your credit card information, the shopping cart with use an SSL certificate to encrypt the information to ensure it does not get into the wrong hands.
You will need the following three things when you want to encrypt any piece of information:
· The information you want to encrypt
· An encryption key (this is nothing but a string of random text)
· An encryption algorithm (a code that garbles or encrypts the data)