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The Difference Between HTTP and HTTPS

Category Programming Technology

Basic Concepts

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is an application layer protocol used for distributed, collaborative, and hypermedia information systems. In simple terms, it is a method for publishing and receiving HTML pages, used to transfer information between web browsers and website servers.

HTTP operates by default on TCP port 80, and any website accessed with http:// at the beginning is a standard HTTP service.

The HTTP protocol sends content in plaintext without any form of data encryption. If an attacker intercepts the transmission between the web browser and the website server, they can directly understand the information. Therefore, the HTTP protocol is not suitable for transmitting sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, passwords, and other payment information.

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a transmission protocol for secure communication over computer networks. HTTPS communicates through HTTP but uses SSL/TLS to encrypt data packets. The main purpose of developing HTTPS is to provide identity authentication for website servers and to protect the privacy and integrity of the exchanged data.

HTTPS operates by default on TCP port 443, and its workflow generally follows this pattern:

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As of June 2018, 34.6% of the top 1 million websites ranked by Alexa use HTTPS as the default, 43.1% of the 141,387 most popular websites on the Internet have securely implemented HTTPS, and 45% of page loads (recorded by Firefox) use HTTPS. In March 2017, 0.11% of the total number of registered domain names in China used HTTPS.

According to Mozilla statistics, since January 2017, more than half of website traffic has been encrypted.

Differences Between HTTP and HTTPS

TCP Three-Way Handshake

Simplified:

Working Principle of HTTPS

We all know that HTTPS can encrypt information to prevent sensitive information from being obtained by third parties, so many banks, email services, and other services with higher security levels will adopt the HTTPS protocol.

1. Client initiates HTTPS request

There is nothing special about this; it is simply the user entering an https URL in the browser and then connecting to the server's port 443.

2. Server configuration

Servers using the HTTPS protocol must have a set of digital certificates, which can be self-made or applied for from organizations. The difference is that self-issued certificates require client verification before access can continue, while certificates from trusted companies do not prompt a warning page (startssl is a good choice, offering a 1-year free service).

This set of certificates is essentially a pair of public and private

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