Introduction
Https stands for Hyper Text Transfer protocol Secure. It is the protocol where the data is sent between the website and the browser. It is a secured version of HTTP. In HTTPS, ‘S’ means ‘Secure’ which means that all the transactions that take place between the website and the browser are encrypted and secure. HTTPS is mostly used in the transactions that are highly confidential like online shopping, online banking etc. Web browsers like Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer display an icon in the form of a padlock in their address bar which indicates that the HTTPS connection is procured and it is effectively being used.
Working of HTTPS
HTTPS pages usually use either of the secure protocols for encrypting the communications –Transport Layer Security (TLS) or the Secure Sockets Layer(SSL). Both these protocols use asymmetric system which utilise two ‘keys’ for encrypting the communication. The two keys are ‘private key’and ‘public key’. All the communications encrypted using the public key shall be decrypted with the private key and vice versa. Private key is accessible only by the owner and web server stores the key securely. The public key is distributed to all for decrypting the information encrypted using the private key.
Know about SSL
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is the standard technical security feature for creating encryptions for the links used by the browser and the web server. This links ensures the privacy and the integrity of the data passed between the browser and the web server. A web server is required to obtain SSL certificate to generate the SSL link.
Know about HTTPS certificate
When HTTPS connection is requested for a web page, SSL certificate is initially sent by the website to the browser. A secure session is started using theallotted public key mentioned in the certificate. This exchange of transactions between the websiteand the browserinitiates the ‘SSL Handshake’. This handshake starts the process of sharing secrets making the connection secure for both the websiteand thebrowser.
Using a SSL Digital Certificate establishes the trust for the HTTPS connection. Browsers normally see an icon in the form of padlock on the address bar which specifies that it is a trusted website.
Benefits of using HTTPS
HTTPS encrypts credit cards and other data so more secure
The best part of using HTTPS is that all the sensitive data is encrypted. Such encryption of data adds more security to the transaction. Now-a-days, everyone uses credit cards because it is more safe and convenient than to carry cash everywhere. It is very important to ensure the security of the data that is being transferred between the website and the user of the credit cards. HTTPS ensures the integrity, confidentiality and identity by encrypting the data in the transaction.
Such encryption and decryption of data plays a major role in saving the website from hackers. When sensitive data is sent without using HHTPS then the chances of the hackers reading through your data is more. When they can read the data, it is also possible that they can manipulate the data as well. They shall intercept the data exchanged between the website and the browser and alter them in their favour. HTTPS helps in avoiding such interception and manipulation of data by providing the security feature.
Google now gives a small SEO advantage to sites that use HTTPS
Google is the mostly used for searching information. Google loves security. It always strives to ensure that all the data that is exchanged over internet is done in a secure and safe environment. Google wishes to send the web traffic to secure sites only. Thus, it has started allocating rankings to all the connections that have procured HTTPS certificate. This means a website which has a HTTPS certificate is going to be ranked higher than a website that does not have a HTTPS certificate. Hence, all the HTTPS sites can enjoy a small SEO advantage over others. Providing such rankings by google will be helpful in gaining the user trust. When the users see that the search engine where they are searching their producthas HTTPS then they satisfied that the website is a secured one and shall visit the site more often.
Looks professional
HTTPS is more professional. The certificate is issued to the website only after due verification and when they are satisfied that the content in the site is genuine. Thus, all the sensitive information that is communicated between the website and the browser is secured.
SSL certificate providers verify identity so more likely to be a trusted company
SSL certificates are issued only to those websites with a validated business identity.Market research has shown that the browsers are fully satisfied with the sites that carry the SSL padlock. They consider such sites as authentic and secure. This trust has added to the responsibility of the certification authorities. They ensure that the certificates are issued to the legitimate business entities only after stringent verification and validation process. This helps in eliminating all the invalid business entities that try to exploit the browsers.
SSL costs money so it is less likely that spammers get into that trouble
SSL certificate is issued only to valid business entities that intend to continue their business for a long time. However, spam sites which do not intend to carry on their business for a long period of time do not get involved in this process. The process of obtaining SSL certificate involves lot of money. Only the long standing businesses can afford and benefit from it. Hence, the spam sites do not make efforts to obtain them. So, all the spam sites get automatically eliminated. The browser can easily differentiate the genuine site and the spam one.
Discount Domains sells SSL certificates
If you are interested in obtaining a SSL certificate for your website, you can get them from Discount Domains. You can obtain SSL certificates for one or multiple websites. This certificate boosts your site’s ranking with Google.
References
- Discount Domains offers SSL certificates here
- All about https on wikipedia