http:// vs https://
If you look at the address bar of an internet browser, you may have seen the urls, which begin with http:// or https://. Both these are protocols used to exchange data of a particular website between the web server and the browser. In this article, we have tried to explain the definitions and the slight difference between http:// and https://.
The two types of internet protocols that enable the exchange of data within the website are :
- http://
- https://
What is a http:// ?
HTTP is an acronym or the abbreviation for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. This protocol is used to transmit hypertext or data over the web in the format of plain text. It makes use of Transmission Control Protocol /TCP, which are ideally used over port 80, thus enabling the sending and receiving of data packets over the web. However, http:// is not as secured as we would like it to be. Though comparatively less secure, they are still used for browsing, video conferencing or playing video games, and so on.
What is a https:// ?
Meanwhile, HTTPS stands for the full form Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure, a more advanced and secure version of HTTP. It makes use of port no. 443 for data transfer and communication. These are also referred to as HTTP over TLS or HTTP over SSL. The encrypted connection that is used also confirms data security.
What is the Difference between http:// and https://?
HTTP with an encryption is the HTTPS. The main difference between these two terms are that HTTPS makes use of TLS (SSL) encryption for even normal HTTP requests and responses and so HTTPS is more secure than HTTP. To know more about the difference between http:// and https://, do check the table below.
Difference between http:// and https://
| http:// | https:// |
| Functions at the Application Layer | This runs at the Transport layer |
| Lacks security and so is vulnerable to hackers | Offer the SSL or TLS Digital Certificate to protect the communication between the server and client |
| Operates by default on port 80 | Operates by default on port 443 |
| Data exchanged is in plain text, and it is not scrambled before sending | Data exchange happens in cipher or encrypted text and data is scrambled before sending |
| HTTP is fast compared to HTTPS | Computation power is consumed by HTTPS to encrypt the communication channel, so it is slow |
| Does not help to improve the search rankings | It helps to improve search rankings |
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