| SSL (Secure
Sockets Layer) is a commonly-used protocol for managing
the security of a message transmission on the Internet.
SSL uses a program layer located between the Internet's
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Transport Control
Protocol (TCP) layers. SSL is included as part of both the
Microsoft and Netscape browsers and most Web server
products. SSL was developed by Netscape and is now
supported by Microsoft and other Internet client/server
developers as well. The "sockets" part of the
term refers to the sockets method of passing data back and
forth between a client and a server program in a network
or between program layers in the same computer. SSL uses
the public-and-private key encryption system from RSA,
which also includes the use of a digital certificate.
SSL is an integral part
of most Web browsers (clients) and Web servers. If a Web
site is on a server that supports SSL, SSL can be enabled
and specific Web pages can be identified as requiring SSL
access. Any Web server can be enabled by using Netscape's
SSLRef program library which can be downloaded for
noncommercial use or licensed for commercial use.
SSL is an alternative to
another commonly-used security protocol, S-HTTP. Newer
browsers support both SSL and S-HTTP. Currently a de facto
standard, SSL has been submitted to the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a proposed official
standard.
8/11/2000 Data obtained from www.whatis.com
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