What Is the Difference Between HTTP and HTTPS?
Matraex, Inc
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Have you ever noticed, at the beginning of every website, are the letters?http?or?https? Take notice and you’ll see that it everytime. But what do?http?and?https?stand for? And how are they different from each other??
HTTP?stands for “HyperText Transfer Protocol”, and it is the protocol used to send data over the internet. Http is written in plain text and can be read by anyone on the internet. The?S?in https, on the other hand, stands for “secure”.?Https?encrypts all of the data that is sent, which makes it much more secure as well as more difficult to tamper with.
When were?http?and?https?first used?
Http?was first released in 1991 by Tim-Berners-Lee. Mr. Lee is a British computer scientist who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web.?Https, on the other hand, was created by Netscape Communications in 1994 as an extension to?http?to make its web browser, Netscape Navigator, more secure.
What has https traditionally been used for?
Https?has traditionally been used for internet usage that needed to be secure due to the risk of theft or to prevent the release of sensitive user information. Banks, shopping websites, and doctors’ offices/hospitals have used?https?the longest to make certain that financial or patient information stayed secure. Over time, however,?https?has become more mainstream, and most websites are now implementing?https?on their websites. In fact, in 2014,?Google turned?https?into a ranking symbol. They not only started using?https?in their Google Mail, Google Search, and Google Drive, but also started rewarding sites that followed suit with a higher Google ranking.
Why is https becoming more important as time passes?
With http written in plain text, it is easy to intercept and use it for malicious purposes, such as in a “the man in the middle” attack. In that attack, the attacker inserts himself into an online conversation, impersonates both parties, and gains information that the two parties were attempting to send to one another without their knowledge.?
Https?also reduces the piracy that can occur through an open network connection or public wi-fi network, such as in coffee houses, though it does not stop all attacks.?
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What’s more, according to Chris Hoffman, content writer for McAfee in the blog?“What is HTTPS, and Why Should I Care?”, internet service providers are legally allowed to spy on their customers’ web browsing history and sell it to advertisers, and Verizon created a supercookie that they are using to track ads. What’s more, documents leaked by Edward Snowden back in 2013 indicated that the U.S. government monitors the internet activity of many users, both domestically and abroad. Using?https?would largely curtail this type of activity.??Https, however, is not infallible, however. If you wish to stay secure during your internet usage, you may need to take other steps to protect yourself.
Finally, by using?https, you will receive a boost in Google search ranking, so there is a better chance that your website will be found.
How can I tell if a website is being presented as HTTP or HTTPS?
It is easy to determine if a website is being shown as http or https by a quick visual inspection. First, by visually looking at the website URL, you might know. If it says http, guess what? It’s http – and vice versa. It doesn’t always directly state whether a given website is http or https, however. Regardless, you can still tell if a website is http or https if you know what to look for.?but if you know what to look for, you can still tell. If a website is https, there will be a lock in the upper left-hand corner in front of the URL such as the following:?
What if I open a website using http instead of https?
If you open a https website with http, it will more than likely still come up, but some of its functionality may be missing. If the site?asks for permission?to access your location, for example it probably won’t, and some pages that request personal or sensitive information may not appear to come up at all. Those pages?may appear to have a bug?when they are actually functioning according to design since an http website is not secure in any way. What appears to be a problem with the site or page is actually protecting the user.
How do you acquire an https website?
In order to have an https website, the business or organization needs to acquire a security certificate which does expire and needs to be renewed. There are different types of security certificates, and in some cases, depending on the business or organization, you may need more than one type of certificate. Some certificates are free while others do have a price tag. Types of security certificates include the following:
Matraex’s goal is to answer all of your app development and tech-related questions so you can be an informed consumer. Have a question? We’d love to hear from you. You can?contact us,?send us a message through our website,?call us?directly, or post a question through our?Google Business Profile.?