What is SSL

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a security protocol that is used to establish a secure connection between a web server and a client, such as a web browser. It is designed to protect the privacy of communication over the internet by encrypting data transmitted between the server and the client.

One common example of SSL in use is when a website uses HTTPS (HTTP Secure) to encrypt data transmitted between the web server and the client. When a user visits a website that uses HTTPS, their browser establishes a secure connection with the web server using SSL. This secure connection ensures that the data transmitted between the server and the client, such as login credentials or sensitive personal information, cannot be intercepted and read by third parties.

Here is an example of how a user might establish a secure connection with a website using SSL:

1. The user opens their web browser and types in the URL of the website they want to visit, such as “https://www.example.com“.
2. The browser sends a request to the web server to establish a connection.
3. The web server sends a copy of its SSL certificate to the browser.
4. The browser verifies the SSL certificate to ensure that it is valid and issued by a trusted certificate authority (CA).
5. If the SSL certificate is valid, the browser sends a message to the server acknowledging receipt of the certificate.
6. The server responds with a message that includes a copy of a temporary key that will be used to encrypt the data transmitted between the server and the client.
7. The browser generates a second temporary key and sends it to the server, encrypted with the server’s temporary key.
8. The server decrypts the message using its own temporary key and retrieves the client’s temporary key.
9. Both the server and the client use the temporary keys to encrypt and decrypt data transmitted between them.

This process establishes a secure connection between the server and the client using SSL. All data transmitted between the server and the client during this session will be encrypted and secure.