This may be your first-time hearing about Secure Socket Layer (SSL), however, as a web user it is important that you are educated on what SSL is and how it can protect you.
What is SSL?
SSL is a protocol which creates a secure link between you and the website you are using. Nowadays however, SSL has become obsolete and insecure due to advancing technology. Transport Layer Security (TLS) has replaced SSL. TLS is mostly the same as SSL except it is still secure and current. Because SSL and TLS are so similar, and because SSL has been used for so long, people still use the term SSL when they are referring to TLS.
How does SSL provide security?
SSL makes your web experience secure using encryption. Encryption turns easily readable data into completely illegible gibberish that can then be sent through the internet safely. When encrypted data arrives at its destination, it can then be decrypted. Decrypted data is the same as the original data. Encrypted data can only be decrypted by the intended recipient.
How do I know if I am secure?
In order to check if a website is secure, you must observe the URL of the website. The URL is the address of the website. The URL is located at the top of any web browser, inside the search bar. If the URL starts with https://, the website is secure. If the URL starts with http://, the website is not secure. http:// stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. http:// was the protocol originally used to transfer websites across the internet as hypertext. http:// is insecure due to having no protection whatsoever. https://, unlike http://, is secure. With https://, the S stands for secure. This indicates that it uses SSL to encrypt your conversation with the website server. Some web browsers shorten the URL. Browsers that do this will add a padlock icon next to the URL if the URL would have started with https before being shortened. If a website URL starts with http without the S, then this website is not secure. Many web browsers will include some variation of Secure or Not Secure beside the URL to tell you that the website is secure or not secure.
What does insecure mean?
If a website is insecure, then anyone with the right skills can see everything you do on the website. An insecure website can also give you viruses and malware. Viruses and malware can do a variety of things to your computer.
- Interrupt the functions of your computer.
- Steal your personal information.
- Delete all your files.
For example:
It is safe to say that you should avoid viruses and malware at all costs.
To conclude
The internet can be a dangerous environment. In order to stay safe in the world wide web, you must only use secure websites. Secure websites keep you safe by using SSL to encrypt your information traveling between your computer and a web server.