What is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)?
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is an Internet protocol that safeguards electronic communications between two or more computers. For a communication or transaction that is transmitted over an “end to end” SSL connection, the computer initiating the transmission will open an SSL connection. This means that when Computer A sends a request to Computer B to transmit information, Computer A will include a digital certificate—a complex authentication tool that is basically a third-party issued certification that Computer A is a trustworthy source. Computer B then accepts the transmission and, in the event that Computer B has information to return to computer A, the SSL connection may remain open until the transaction between the two computers is complete. Server-side SSL can also be used in the event that Computer A doesn’t have the necessary digital certificate or the ability to open an SSL connection to submit a communication to Computer B. However, Computer B may have some other means of authe
SSL is a program layer for managing the security of message transmissions in a network. Created by Netscape, the idea is that the programming for keeping one’s messages confidential should be contained in a program layer between an application (eg: a Web browser or HTTP) and the Internet’s TCP/IP layers. “Sockets” refers to the sockets method of passing data between program layers in the same computer or between a client and a server program in a network. The public and private key encryption system from RSA (including the use of a digital certificate) is employed by Netscape’s SSL. SSL is an integral part of each Netscape browser. In fact, if a Web site is on a Netscape server, SSL can be enabled, and specific Web pages can be identified as requiring SSL access. Other servers can use SSL by using Netscape’s SSL Ref program library. SSL can be enabled on these servers by downloading this tool for noncommercial use of licensed for commercial use.
