Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Working with Secure Sites and Security Certificates
To prevent data from being snooped during transmission, web experts have developed
technologies for securely transmitting data to and from web servers. A secure site ' s URL
typically begins with https:// rather than http:// ; and, depending on the browser you're
using, there may be other indicators as well, such as a lock icon in the Address bar (see
Figure 9.10). Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is one of the technologies used for generating
secure connections. Secure connections use a different port than regular browser traffi c—
usually port 443, whereas regular web browsing is done on port 80.
Sites also employ security certifi cates when communicating via a secure connection that
help you know that the site with which you're communicating is legitimate and not a fake
out to steal your information. A certifi cate is issued by an issuing authority , a company
that maintains a website that can tell your browser whether the certifi cate that a web page
is presenting as proof of its identity is valid. A security certifi cate contains information
including a serial number, the person or organization that issued the certifi cate, and a
range of dates it's valid to and from. In Figure 9.10, a pop-up tells you that the certifi cate
issuer for this site is VeriSign.
FIGURE 9.10
Secure URL in Internet Explorer with a pop-up that identifies the
certificate issuer
With almost any web browser, it's easy to review and monitor what certifi cates have
been installed, who the issuing authorities are, and what details are held within each
certifi cate. Exercise 9.8 shows where to fi nd security certifi cate information in Internet
Explorer 9.
EXERCISE 9.8
View Security Certificates
1.
Open Internet Explorer, and choose Tools
Internet Options.
2.
On the Content tab, click the Certifi cates button. A list of security certifi cates appears.
There are multiple tabs in the dialog box for different certifi cate publishers and
authorities.
3.
Click the Trusted Root Certifi cation Authorities tab, and browse the list. These are all
companies that issue and verify certifi cates.
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