HTTP and HTTPS: Google Chrome made a major change in one of its latest versions: It blocks HTTP websites. So anyone who tries to visit a page that still uses the HTTP protocol, Chrome displays a warning stating that the page is not secure.
Below we will see what HTTP is and why the HTTPS protocol is being used more recently (not yet universally, but it is coming).
HTTP comes from the initials of Hypertext Transfer Protocol and means hypertext transfer protocol. It is used to send information between two systems and is most often used between a web server and a home computer.
HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure with the addition of an S and comes from Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. This particular protocol is also used to send information between systems, but with more security. Security is the reason why Chrome allows these pages to load, but blocks those that still use HTTP.
HTTPS did not exist. In the very early days of the Internet, all programmers worked with HTTP. This protocol was developed in 1965, while HTTPS was developed in 1994. This means that it took about three decades for us to think about the need for a secure transport protocol. For a long time, it may not have mattered, but in today's Internet, it seems to be absolutely necessary.
Previously, it did not exist because conditions did not allow and did not require it. The Internet was not widely available and accessible to everyone, and personal devices were expensive and much less.
However, it was not only the rates of Internet use that changed, but also the nature of the information being sent. With the spread of email through universities, the need for secure communication channels emerged. The Internet continued to mature, and with the arrival of e-commerce, banks began to use the secure protocol in the payment methods of online stores.
Information had to be sent securely, and the only way to easily do this was with the HTTPS protocol.
HTTPS originally used the Secure Socket Layer protocol for secure data transmission. SSL, as it is known, was developed for this very purpose. Initially, it was used by email, e-commerce sites and payment portals such as Paypal. The goal of SSL was, and remains, to prevent an insecure page from being used to trick its visitors into distributing malware from the browser.
It is worth noting that Secure Socket Layer has evolved since it was first developed. It has been replaced by Transport Layer Security (TLS). TLS provides a much better level of privacy protection. Today, the need for security is not just about not leaking sensitive information, but also about blocking monitoring by various third parties (we won't mention names).
If you're using Google Chrome and you try to visit a page using HTTP, the browser won't let you do so. You'll have the option to ignore the warning, but there will be a warning that the site isn't using HTTPS.
If you're using a different browser that doesn't automatically block HTTP sites, you can easily tell if a site is using HTTP or HTTPS by checking the address bar. You'll see a green lock icon and the word Secure just before the URL, and the address will start with https:// instead of http://
