What is SSL?

• SSL is an abbreviation standing for 'Secure Sockets Layer'.
• This is a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet.
• SSL works by using a private key to encrypt data that is to be transmitted over the SSL connection.
• Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer support SSL, and many Web sites use the protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers.
• By convention, URLs that require an SSL connection start with https:// instead of http://.