How HTTPS Works
To understand how HTTPS secures your connection to websites, you first need to know about SSL/TLS certificates. These digital certificates act as electronic credentials that websites use to prove their identity to your browser. When you visit a secure site (one that starts with https://), your browser expects to see a valid certificate before it trusts the site and begins encrypting your data. Certificates are issued by trusted organizations called Certificate Authorities (CAs). If a website presents a valid certificate that matches its domain, your browser can be confident that it is communicating with the real site and not an imposter. This verification step is crucial for protecting sensitive information, such as passwords and payment details, from attackers.
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The HTTPS handshake is a series of steps that your browser and a website follow to establish a secure, encrypted connection. It starts when your browser tries to connect to a secure site. The server responds by sending its SSL/TLS certificate, which contains its public key and details about its identity. Your browser checks this certificate against a list of trusted Certificate Authorities (CAs). If the certificate is valid and matches the website's domain, the browser proceeds.
Next, your browser generates a random secret key that will be used for encryption during your session. To keep this key secure, the browser encrypts it with the server's public key (which it got from the certificate) and sends it to the server. Only the server, which holds the corresponding private key, can decrypt this message and recover the secret key. With this shared secret key in place, both your browser and the server can now encrypt and decrypt the information they exchange, keeping your data private and protected from eavesdroppers. You can refer to the diagram above to visualize each step of this process, from certificate exchange to secure key negotiation.
Think of an HTTPS certificate like an official ID card used to prove someone's identity. When you meet someone claiming to be a government official, you might ask to see their badge or ID. If the ID is genuine and issued by a trusted authority, you feel confident that the person is who they say they are. Similarly, your browser checks a website's certificate, and if it is valid and signed by a trusted Certificate Authority, your browser trusts that it is talking to the real website, not an impostor.
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To understand how HTTPS secures your connection to websites, you first need to know about SSL/TLS certificates. These digital certificates act as electronic credentials that websites use to prove their identity to your browser. When you visit a secure site (one that starts with https://), your browser expects to see a valid certificate before it trusts the site and begins encrypting your data. Certificates are issued by trusted organizations called Certificate Authorities (CAs). If a website presents a valid certificate that matches its domain, your browser can be confident that it is communicating with the real site and not an imposter. This verification step is crucial for protecting sensitive information, such as passwords and payment details, from attackers.
index.html
The HTTPS handshake is a series of steps that your browser and a website follow to establish a secure, encrypted connection. It starts when your browser tries to connect to a secure site. The server responds by sending its SSL/TLS certificate, which contains its public key and details about its identity. Your browser checks this certificate against a list of trusted Certificate Authorities (CAs). If the certificate is valid and matches the website's domain, the browser proceeds.
Next, your browser generates a random secret key that will be used for encryption during your session. To keep this key secure, the browser encrypts it with the server's public key (which it got from the certificate) and sends it to the server. Only the server, which holds the corresponding private key, can decrypt this message and recover the secret key. With this shared secret key in place, both your browser and the server can now encrypt and decrypt the information they exchange, keeping your data private and protected from eavesdroppers. You can refer to the diagram above to visualize each step of this process, from certificate exchange to secure key negotiation.
Think of an HTTPS certificate like an official ID card used to prove someone's identity. When you meet someone claiming to be a government official, you might ask to see their badge or ID. If the ID is genuine and issued by a trusted authority, you feel confident that the person is who they say they are. Similarly, your browser checks a website's certificate, and if it is valid and signed by a trusted Certificate Authority, your browser trusts that it is talking to the real website, not an impostor.
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