What is the difference between http and https?

[Guest sonyrobin]

Can anybody tell me What is the difference between http and https?

[Kevin J Timothy]

Using HTTPS, the computers agree on a "code" between them, and then they scramble the messages using that "code" so that no one in between can read them. This keeps your information safe from hackers.

 

As a result, obtaining this security feature on websites have become more marketable (and important). With the influx in online fraud your website visitors can rest assured that their personal information cannot be compromised so easily. 

 

Get yourself an SSL certificate for your blog/website/domain. It's very affordable...and it could mean the difference in sales or no sales (for you). 

[rpsmith]

Google is really starting to push this now. Some browsers put up a warning that says "site not secure". Most of the time, as far as I can tell, it is the presence or absence of a green lock in the url display. If I remember this correctly, google's last update added a penalty on non secure sites.

[Michael Harris]

I understand the good about having the https verses the http but it really is starting to seem like a money thing to me. Some people say the https is inexpensive but I see it listed on sites like godaddy and others for more than 49.00 per site. So if someone just happens to have quite a few sites this cost can be extremely high. and now some sites I advertise on and have been advertising on for years will not accept the https in the ad checkers. And unless you take the s off the https, which doesn't work for every link, you cannot run your ad. So after purchasing the https I can't use it in sites I use all the time. The next point is that there appear to be different levels of https that can be bought. I have seen it as low as 9.99 per site. so which is best and is there really any difference or is this just another way for the big dogs of cyberspace to control things even more. Now one of the most reasonable discussions I have heard is that if you are an affiliate you should not have to worry about the https because it is the site owners obligation to purchase the https which will protect you, theoretically, because it is the site owner who is handling all the saved data in the site. Now I own 33 domains and most handle only minimal information and it is believed that I should be ok. But, I am thinking that maybe I should at least have a could of https sites and have any purchases customers make would run through those sites. It would require an extra step on my end of a purchase but it might also cause a couple of extra steps on the customers' end which could also cause a problem. Anyway I like the discussion because it is something that I believe all of us will have to deal with in the future. 

[Darren Olander]

You reminded me to run https on this forum, it is set now, hopefully no problems.

[rpsmith]

I understand the good about having the https verses the http but it really is starting to seem like a money thing to me. Some people say the https is inexpensive but I see it listed on sites like godaddy and others for more than 49.00 per site. So if someone just happens to have quite a few sites this cost can be extremely high. and now some sites I advertise on and have been advertising on for years will not accept the https in the ad checkers. And unless you take the s off the https, which doesn't work for every link, you cannot run your ad. So after purchasing the https I can't use it in sites I use all the time. The next point is that there appear to be different levels of https that can be bought. I have seen it as low as 9.99 per site. so which is best and is there really any difference or is this just another way for the big dogs of cyberspace to control things even more. Now one of the most reasonable discussions I have heard is that if you are an affiliate you should not have to worry about the https because it is the site owners obligation to purchase the https which will protect you, theoretically, because it is the site owner who is handling all the saved data in the site. Now I own 33 domains and most handle only minimal information and it is believed that I should be ok. But, I am thinking that maybe I should at least have a could of https sites and have any purchases customers make would run through those sites. It would require an extra step on my end of a purchase but it might also cause a couple of extra steps on the customers' end which could also cause a problem. Anyway I like the discussion because it is something that I believe all of us will have to deal with in the future. 

 

What you say is not entirely true. Some hosting companies offer a "general ssl" certificate that covers all the sites they host. The hosting company I use, for example, does this for all of my sites at no extra charge. This certification satisfies the google requirement. The set up and initialization part, took no time at all and was done by the host. If there were any changes to the site itself, they were minor.

[Michael Harris]

First of all I wasn't speaking as an expert on https. I was speaking about the experiences I have had with it thus far. Those are my experiences and true to me. And if you read my post accurately I was sharing my lack of knowledge because of the many different ways https is being presented. And you pretty much confirmed my final comments about the different levels of https and how it can be applied to cover our sites. Never once did I even try to speak as an expert. But I did speak things that are true to me. And form your comments you did the same. 

[stv77]

If your site refer to the other sites which are not HTTPS your https is useless.

[Darren Olander]

If your site refer to the other sites which are not HTTPS your https is useless.

 

Not useless, there just wouldn't be a secure connection between your site and those http sites (nonsecure) sites from what I understand.

Here is a better explanation:

Attackers may be able to manipulate parts of the page, for example, by displaying misleading or inappropriate content, but they should not be able to steal your personal data from the site.

 

[Kevin J Timothy]

You reminded me to run https on this forum, it is set now, hopefully no problems.

 LOL...thank you, sir!

[stv77]

You reminded me to run https on this forum, it is set now, hopefully no problems.

 

Thank you Darren. 

[Guest sonyrobin]

Thank you for the valuable information guys!

[oldbuddy]

Interesting topic and I am also in the dark, but I do know that one hosting service I have used for over a decade where I have a $1 a month account on a subdomain (no registration fees) has https included free. That tells me it should not be all that expensive.

[Zanezim]

Nice topic

[Guest saisaanvi]

Using HTTPS no one in between can read your information. This keeps your information safe from hackers.

[market101]

Well, it's supposed to keep your information safe.  But if that were really true, how come so many big companies, including banks and other large online businesses get hacked?  About a month ago I  purchased an inexpensive encryption program and that seems to be working, but I am not an expert.

[Sneha]

Http is not secured and https is secured

[Ed Forshaw]

This is a link to an article on the subject that explains it clearly.

 

https://www.howtogeek.com/181767/htg-explains-what-is-https-and-why-should-i-care/

 

Also, if anyone is putting off upgrading to https due to cost, I used this service for my sites and it is completely free and simple to do yourself.

 

https://www.sslforfree.com/

 

Hope that helps,

[weblord]

i guess you figured it all out long time ago but here's my two cents

http = is normal browsing/unsecure

https = is using secure socket layer (ssl) certificate.

[nextstep]

I think everyone who can should update as soon as possibly Google will thank you for it.