SSL basics

SSL is short for Secure Sockets Layer. It is a protocol developed by Netscape Corporation and used for transmitting private documents and sensitive information between web resources and a client computer. Now SSL is an international standard for secure information exchange. SSL works simple. It uses a cryptographic system that uses two keys to encrypt information − a public key and a private secret key.

SSL technology is embedded in all popular browsers and engages automatically when the user connects to a web server that uses SSL. URLs that require an SSL connection start with “https:” instead of “http:.”, so It's easy to tell when a server is using SSL security.

When your web browser connects to a server with SSL, it automatically requests the server for a digital Certificate of Authority (CA). This Certificate of Authority positively authenticates the server's identity to ensure you will be sending sensitive data to an approved and verified site. The browser also makes sure the domain name matches the name on the Certificate of Authority, and that the CA has been generated by a trusted authority and has a valid digital signature.