posted on February 12, 2009 06:26:41 PM new
Difference between http & https
Don't know how many are aware of this difference, What is the difference between http and https
Maybe you already knew this,
FIRST, MANY PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE OF
**The main difference between http:// and https:// is It's all about keeping you secure** HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transport Protocol,
Which is just a fancy way of saying it's a protocol (a language, in a manner of speaking) For information to be passed back and forth between web servers and clients. The important thing is the letter S which makes the difference between HTTP and HTTPS.
The S (big surprise) stands for "Secure". If you visit a website or webpage, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://.
This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular 'unsecure' language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with the website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site.
This is why you never ever enter your credit card number in an http website! But if the web address begins with https://, that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on.
If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://.
If it doesn't, there's no way you're going to enter sensitive information like a credit card number.
It's a good point you raise... but I just want to add a clarification. It's not the entire website itself that you need to worry about being secure.... but just the checkout area (or other form) where you're entering your sensitive information.
For example, all my merchandise is hosted in shopping cart software at http://store.vintagepaperads.com but... as soon as you start the checkout process, you're directed to secure https: pages. Since this is the only area you enter data in... it's the only area that needs to be secure.
So... don't stop shopping at sites that start with http... instead just make sure that when you get to the point of entering your own data through forms, that you're doing it on pages that start with https... otherwise Toni's warning is correct!
