The protocol that secures HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) communication is TLS (Transport Layer Security). HTTPS is essentially HTTP with an added layer of security, and TLS is that crucial security layer. TLS encrypts the data exchanged between a user's web browser and a website's server, providing three primary protections: encryption (scrambling data to prevent eavesdropping), data integrity (ensuring data hasn't been tampered with during transmission), and authentication (verifying that you are communicating with the intended server, not an impostor). TLS is the successor to the older SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol, and all modern secure web traffic relies on TLS to safeguard sensitive information during online interactions.
- FTP: FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an unencrypted standard network protocol used for transferring files between computers. It offers no inherent security for web communication and is unsuitable for protecting sensitive data.
- SMTP: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the standard protocol used for sending and receiving email messages. While email can be secured through various means, SMTP itself is not the protocol that secures general web traffic via HTTPS.
- HTTP: HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the fundamental, unsecured protocol for data communication on the World Wide Web. HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, meaning HTTP itself does not provide security; TLS does that for HTTPS.