HTTPS protocol

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Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)) is the secured version of HTTP, which is the protocol used in the World Wide Web to deliver web pages. HTTP led to the establishment of the World Wide Web in 1990 by English physicist Tim Berners-Lee. Specifically, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application-level protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. Thus,it entails a generic, stateless, protocol which due to its versatility, can be used for many tasks beyond its use for hypertext. This includes utilization with such entities as name servers and distributed object management systems, through extension of its request methods, error codes and headers. As a result, a distinctive feature of HTTP is the typing and negotiation of data representation which in turn allows systems to be built independently of the data being transferred. In knowing this, HTTPS is secured by combining HTTP with the Transport Layer Security or the older Secure Sockets Layer.




References

http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec1.html#sec1.1