HTTPS
Most web activity occurs using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), but this protocol is prone to interception. HTTPS uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to transfer information. Originally developed by Netscape Communications and implemented in its browser, HTTPS has since been incorporated into most common browsers. It uses the open standard SSL to encrypt data at the application layer. In addition, HTTPS uses the standard TCP port 443 for TCP/IP communications rather than the standard port 80 used for HTTP. Early HTTPS implementations made use of the 40-bit RC4 encryption algorithm, but with the relaxation of export restrictions, most implementations now use 128-bit encryption.
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