{"id":20591,"date":"2020-01-30T15:47:57","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T15:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/https"},"modified":"2026-09-14T10:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T10:39:04","slug":"https","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/https","title":{"rendered":"HTTPS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"https https\" class=\"boxpad wp-image-14452 size-full alignright\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/https-1.png\" style=\"margin-top:0;\" width=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/https-1.png 300w, https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/https-1-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>HTTPS<\/strong> is the use of the HTTP protocol over a connection protected by TLS. It allows data to be exchanged between a browser or application and a server with encryption, integrity checking and server authentication. Its name stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure.<\/p>\n<p>TLS is the protocol currently used to protect these connections. The commercial term &#34;SSL certificate&#34; remains common, although <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/ssl\">SSL<\/a> is its predecessor and its versions are obsolete. HTTPS protects communication, but it does not certify that a website&#8217;s content or activities are legitimate.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What is HTTPS for?<\/h2>\n<p>HTTPS protects data as it travels between the endpoints of a connection. It is used in online banking, purchase forms on ecommerce sites, password-based logins and general browsing, not only in particularly confidential transactions.<\/p>\n<p>With correct configuration and validation, it makes it difficult for a third party on the network to read or modify the exchanged content without detection. Encryption covers HTTP requests and responses, including their headers and bodies.<\/p>\n<p>This protection does not prevent the server from receiving the data, nor does it protect stored information by itself. It also does not conceal all connection data, such as IP addresses or traffic volume, or prevent the risks of a compromised device.<\/p>\n<h2>How to identify an HTTPS page<\/h2>\n<p>An HTTPS address uses the &#34;https:\/\/&#34; prefix. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/browser\">Web browsers<\/a> allow the connection status and certificate information to be viewed through the controls associated with the address. The specific icon depends on the browser and its version: not all display a padlock.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/chrome\/answer\/95617?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chrome&#8217;s help on secure connections<\/a> explains how to view this information and distinguish it from warnings about dangerous sites. An encrypted connection can lead to a fraudulent page; HTTPS does not replace checking the domain or verify the commercial identity of the site&#8217;s operator.<\/p>\n<p>An expired certificate, a domain name mismatch or an unaccepted chain of trust can trigger warnings. An address beginning with HTTPS is not enough to conclude that the connection has been validated correctly.<\/p>\n<h2>Benefits of using HTTPS<\/h2>\n<p>HTTPS provides several security properties. These should be distinguished from expectations about trust or search rankings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Confidentiality:<\/strong> it encrypts transmitted content to make it difficult for third parties outside the connection to read it. It does not prevent authorized endpoints from accessing that content.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Server authentication:<\/strong> it allows verification that the server presents a valid certificate for the requested domain and demonstrates possession of the corresponding private key. This does not guarantee the honesty of the business or the truthfulness of its content.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Relationship with SEO:<\/strong> serving pages over HTTPS is part of a secure browsing experience. Using it does not guarantee better rankings or compensate for content, crawling or relevance problems within an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/seo-agency-spain\">SEO<\/a> strategy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Integrity:<\/strong> it allows alterations to protected data to be detected during transmission. It does not correct errors already present in the information sent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How HTTPS works<\/h2>\n<p>When establishing a new connection, the browser and server perform a TLS handshake. The details depend on the version and whether a session is being resumed, but the process can be summarized as follows:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Initial connection:<\/strong> the client and server agree on compatible parameters, such as the TLS version and the algorithms they will use.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Certificate checking:<\/strong> the server presents its certificate and demonstrates control of the associated private key. The browser checks aspects such as the domain, validity and chain of trust, without necessarily contacting the certification authority for every connection.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key establishment:<\/strong> shared key material is obtained through the cryptographic exchange to protect the session. The certificate does not encrypt all content by itself and is not a session key.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Protected communication:<\/strong> HTTP requests and responses are transmitted using symmetric encryption and integrity mechanisms with the agreed keys.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Protection must also cover the resources loaded by the page. If an HTTPS document requests resources over HTTP, this creates mixed content. Browsers may upgrade those requests to HTTPS or block them, depending on the type of resource; having a certificate does not automatically correct every insecure reference on a website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Definition: HTTPS is the use of the HTTP protocol over a connection protected by TLS. It allows data to be exchanged between a browser or application and a server with encryption, integrity checking and server authentication. Its name stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. TLS is the protocol currently used to protect these connections. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[1263],"class_list":["post-20591","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-web-encryption"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/20591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=20591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}