Hi,
can anyone describe the exact difference between the HTTP and HTTPS?

__________________
With,
J. Jeyaseelan
Everything Possible

HTTP is transmitted over the wire via PORT 80(TCP). You normally use HTTP when you are browsing the web, its not secure, and so someone can eavesdrop on the conversation between your computer and the web server. HTTP can support the client asking for a particular file to be sent only if it has been updated after a certain date and time. This would be used if the client has already retrieved a copy of a file by that name from that server, but wants to check to see if it has been updated since then. The server responds either with the updated file, with a message to say the file has not been changed, or with a message that the file no longer exists.

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer or HTTP over SSL) is a Web protocol developed by Netscape and built into its browser that encrypts and decrypts user page requests as well as the pages that are returned by the Web server. HTTPS is really just the use of Netscapes Secure Socket Layer (SSL) as a sub layer under its regular HTTP application layering. (HTTPS uses port 443 instead of HTTP port 80 in its interactions with the lower layer, TCP/IP.) SSL uses a 40-bit key size for the RC4 stream encryption algorithm, new-age browsers use 128-bit key size which is more secure than the former, it is considered an adequate degree of encryption for commercial exchange. HTTPS is normally used in login pages, shopping/commercial sites.

HTTP is the protocol that a web browser such as Internet Explorer uses to request a web page from a web server. It stands for HyperText Transport Protocol.


HTTPS is an encrypted form of HTTP used for sending sensitive data like credit card numbers between the browser and the web server. This is also sometimes called Secure HTTP or SSL (which stands for Secure Sockets Layer).


We also include the HTTP and HTTPS performance.

-V.Vadivelan.

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HTTP and HTTPS performance.pdf (154.9 KB, 2 views)