1 Answer

Many people are duped into going to a fake website when they think they are seeing the real thing. Unscrupulous webmasters use this method (phishing) to get you to give up private data so they can eventually steal your money.

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer - HTTP over SSL), not to be confused with S-HTTP, was developed by Netscape to provide security over standard page requests.

HTTPS is not a separate protocol, but a combination of the HTTP protocol with the SSL underneath, whereby page requests will be encrypted by the browser and de-encrypted at the server end. Likewise, information sent through the server’s HTTPS layer will also be encrypted.

The Secure Socket Layer lies under the HTTP application layering and thus HTTPS uses a different port (port 443) from the standard HTTP port 80 with TCP/IP. The RC4 stream encryption algorithm features a 40-bit key size providing good encryption for the SSL.



Level of Protection with https
While https is great in theory, the level of protection you can expect will depend on a number of factors. These include, but are not limited to, the implementation by the browser, the integrity of the server/software and the cryptographic algorithms used.

For example, using your credit card over the internet through https is certainly the way to go for peace of mind versus completing transactions over a standard http protocol. However, https and encrypted connections are not foolproof, in that your credit card number is only protected on its journey from your computer to the server. There are absolutely no guarantees that the server itself is fully secure, or indeed, your computer.



HTTPS usage example - https hotmail
When signing into Hotmail, there is a separate link entitled ‘Sign in using enhanced security’ - https hotmail. On clicking this link notice the address in your browser change from the http protocol to the SSL https. This will give you extra security on signing into https hotmail.

In addition to the https in the browser address window, look for the SSL lock, indicated in the taskbar in Internet Explorer and in the address box and task bar in Firefox.

Note. Those on dial-up, or with slow internet connections in general, may find that using https hotmail may take longer than usual. For better performance in this situation, use the standard security.

13 years ago. Rating: 1
Comment this answer Add new comment