Understanding the Impact of SSL & HTTPS Encryption

Most of us have the propensity to connect to public Wi-Fi every now and then when we are pressed for an internet connection to do certain things or perform certain tasks which would not be possible without a sturdy internet connection.

It is among the more prominent conveniences that the modern world provides us with wherever we may be. However, there are certainly risks attached to the use of public Wi-Fi which is why ensuring that the HTTP we use is secure is very important.

Apart from that, Google does not pay much attention to unsecure HTTP based on the fact that HTTPS sites are given priority by Google. If you are currently starting to wonder what the difference between HTTP and HTTPS is, this article will provide some insight into this particular subject.  

The ‘S’ at the end of the HTTP string which incidentally stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol stands for secure. This means that the HTTP request that you sent utilises Secure Sockets Layer or SSL which is another protocol used to ensure that communication is secure between the client and the server.

In other words the protocols are basically features that trigger encryption that keeps eavesdroppers from eavesdropping on your communication and keeps MITM (Man-in-the-Middle) hackers from hijacking or monitoring your online activities.

This is critical because MITMs are able to ‘hook-up’ with your system in a manner that allows them to not just gather personal information, but also feed you false information with the intent to mislead you.

Believe it or not, although most people take HTTPs and SSL issues for granted as something that is just ‘there’ it is the backbone of secure Internet communication that is critical towards protecting sensitive information sent and received by us.

Each time we send or receive emails or access sites and login with personal data, information travels across a labyrinth of networks across the planet.

Just the same, if you own a website SSL is essential towards protecting the website even though it may not contain sensitive information, what it does is that it provides adequate privacy and essential security for those who visit your site and Google takes this into account when it comes to Search Engine Optimisation or SEO.

How SSL works is quite simple actually, the protocol Encrypts Information being sent across the World Wide Web in a manner that only the intended recipient will be able to decrypt and access the info.

This is a critical aspect of online communication as data sent via the Internet is passed around from computer to computer before the eventually end up in their targeted destination and any computer between the sender and the destination server will be able to access any or all information without SSL which includes credit card numbers, usernames and passwords.

SSL certificates hence make information incomprehensible to anyone else, but the recipient. This is essential towards protection from hackers and identity thieves who are quite rampant nowadays.