Guest shebavon Posted January 19, 2009 Posted January 19, 2009 snopes.com http vs. https Claim: Article explains the difference between http and https protocols. TRUE Example: [Collected via e-mail, January 2009] The main difference between http:// and https:// FIRST, MANY PEOPLE ARE UNAWARE OF **The main difference between http:// and https:// is It's all about keeping you secure** HTTP stands for HyperText 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. You understand why this is so important, right? 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. PASS IT ON (You may save someone a lot of grief). Origins: The information presented above is generally correct: Accessing a web site through a URL that begins with the https:// protocol identifier indicates that information is being transmitted via Secure HTTP (S-HTTP) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), protocols which encrypt information passed between a client (browser) and a server (web site). It is especially important to ensure a secure protocol is in use on web pages that process functions (such as online purchases and bank transactions) involving the transmission of credit card numbers, account numbers, Social Security numbers, PINs, and other sensitive personal information in order to prevent electronic eavesdroppers from snooping on web activity and thereby gaining access to (unencrypted forms of) such data. Certainly using an unsecure (http://) connection to send sensitive information is a situation best avoided. However, due to proliferation of digital spoofing schemes, a secure (https://) connection is not necessarily an absolute guarantee of safety — when engaging in financial transactions over the Internet, you should still take steps to ensure you are dealing with a reputable entity, and that you are actually connected to a web site operated by the entity you are dealing with (rather than a look-alike site set up as a deception by cybercrooks). Last updated: 6 January 2009 The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/https.asp Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2009 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson. This material may not be reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com. Quote
Gaybutton Posted January 19, 2009 Posted January 19, 2009 https - Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer or HTTPS is a URI scheme used to indicate a secure HTTP connection. ... http - hypertext transfer protocol: a protocol (utilizing TCP) to transfer hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers Quote
