What is http & https?

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http) is a system for transmitting and receiving information across the Internet. Http serves as a request and response procedure that all agents on the Internet follow so that information can be rapidly, easily, and accurately distributed between servers (which hold information) and clients (who are trying to access it). Http is commonly used to access html pages, but other resources can be utilized as well through http.

In many cases, clients may be exchanging confidential information with a server, which needs to be secured in order to prevent unauthorized access. For this reason, https, or secure http was developed to allow authorization and secured transactions.

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a secure version of the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (http). HTTPS allows secure e-commerce transactions, such as online banking, mobile banking etc.

Web browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox display a padlock icon to indicate that the website is secure, as it also displays https:// in the address bar. When a user connects to a website via HTTPS, the website encrypts the session with a Digital Certificate. A user can tell if they are connected to a secure website if the website URL begins with https://instead of http://.