What is HTTPS and Why I Need one for my Web App/ Site?

Https is Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) with the Secure Socket Layer (SSL)/ Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.

The primary reason why SSL is used is to keep sensitive information sent across the Internet encrypted so that only the intended recipient can understand it. This is very important because the information you send on the Internet is passed from computer to computer to get to the destination server. Any computer in between you and the server can see your credit card numbers, usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information if it is not encrypted with SSL certificate. When an SSL certificate is used, the information becomes unreadable to everyone except for the server you are sending the information to. This protects it from hackers and identity thieves.

That’s why you always heard the phrase “Do not enter a password or a credit card number unless you see the “lock” on your browser screen”.

Also, some browsers (ex. firefox) explicitly warn you if you are about to type a password into a webpage that is not served over https.

Other browsers, like Google Chrome, offer some capabilities only for applications running over Https . https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/security/encrypt-in-transit/why-https

Watch Google Chrome Talk about Https https://youtu.be/iP75a1Y9saY

HTTPS is a must for any decent web application or website. it’s also prettier.