HTTP is a network communication language used on the World Wide Web to exchange data. HTTPS encrypts communication streams for secure connections. HTTP operates on the client-server model and is part of a layered network protocol suite. The Hypertext Transfer Protocol has evolved over time, changing versions since its original form. HTTPS is virtually identical to HTTP but establishes an encrypted connection between the server and the client.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the network communication language used on the World Wide Web to exchange text, graphics, sound and other types of data and services. HTTP transfers data between globally connected computers in plain text. A secure version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) instructs web browsers to encrypt communication streams to protect sensitive information. HTTPS is used for all commercial, banking and other services where a secure connection is required.
The invention of HTTP and the World Wide Web is credited to the English physicist at MIT, Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee (“Tim” Berners-Lee). Berners-Lee proposed the idea in March 1989, and in December 1990, he and his team successfully exchanged data between networked computers using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol.
HTTP operates on the client-server model, where the server is a computer on the Internet that hosts a website or database, and the client is a computer that requests information from the server. HTTP is actually part of a layered network protocol suite. In the network hierarchy, HTTP is an application layer that runs on top of the dominant transport layer known as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). TCP is part of the Internet Protocol Suite (IPS) which includes the Internet Protocol (IP) addressing convention used with TCP, the combination of which is called TCP/IP.
Every client and server on the Web is identified by a unique numeric IP address, or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This ensures that data requests and corresponding responses (datagrams) are routed correctly across the various networks that collectively make up the World Wide Web. Numeric IPs are mapped to an associated name to make the URL easier to remember. Thus, one can enter wisegeek.com into a browser’s URL window, rather than having to remember a string of IP numbers. In a rough analogy, TCP could be thought of as the vehicle or engine that HTTP uses to travel between computers, while IP ensures that the best route will be taken and data will arrive at the correct destination.
Like all protocols, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol has evolved over time, changing versions since its original form. Development for HTTP rests with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the World Wide Web Consortium. These entities publish requests for comments (RFCs) detailing new standards, such as RFC 2616 from June 1999, which outlines HTTP/1.1, the current version most commonly in use.
Secure HTTPS (https:// vs http://) is virtually identical to the standard Hypertext Transfer Protocol but for a call to the web browser to establish an encrypted connection between the server and the client. All modern browsers are equipped with point-to-point encryption, which occurs automatically and without user intervention when connecting to a site whose address begins with https://. All data that leaves the server or client is encrypted before it leaves your computer and decrypted upon arrival, remaining inscrutable along the way.
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