What does SSL mean?

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When surfing the Internet on a day-to-day basis, the term SSL is often found. Above all, websites that require a login with a user name and associated password rely on this technology. Because SSL doesn't mean anything else than that the connection is encrypted.

SSL makes surfing safer.
SSL makes surfing safer.

SSL is used for encryption

  • SSL stands for "Secure Sockets Layer" and is an encryption protocol that was specially developed for the TCP / IP protocol, which is used by most Internet services.
  • The term SSL is still in use for automatic encryption in the browser, but with version 3.1 the protocol was renamed to TLS (Transport Layer Security).
  • Use of SSL resp. TLS is the encryption of sensitive data. Every login should be secured with the help of SSL, for example, to prevent hackers from entering Can switch to the connection between browser and server undetected and thus username and password intercept. This is called a man-in-the-middle attack and is very easy to guarantee with unencrypted HTTP connections.
  • You can recognize the use of SSL by the abbreviation "https" instead of "http". Various browsers such as Firefox and Chrome also display a lock symbol in the address bar.

Independent certificate means security

  • To secure the connection, so-called hybrid encryption is used with SSL. This encrypts a browser request to the user and only decrypts it on the target server.
    • Activate SSL protocol - this is how it works

    With the SSL protocol ("Secure Sockets Layer") you can access secured websites ...

  • To increase security, hybrid encryption via SSL requires a certificate that is independent of a so-called trust center and, as an independent instance, the identity of the server guaranteed. This prevents a hacker from posing as a server.
  • The certificate is uniquely assigned to a website and has an expiry date. If the information matches that in the browser, it accepts the connection and automatically encrypts the data transferred via it. This means that if the verification fails or if an outdated SSL certificate is used, an error message will be generated that will block the connection.

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