Public Key Encryption
Action
Result
Interpretation
Access https://abcwindows.internal.com/erpplanning.aspx
Success
Secure connection
Access http://abcwindows.internal.com/erpplanning.aspx
Failure
No secure connection, missing certificate
Access http://www.abcwindows.com
Failure
No secure connection
Access https://www.abcwindows.com
Success
Secure connection
When you make a request to visit a website, that request must pass through many different networks. Any of these networks could be used to potentially eavesdrop or tamper with your connection. If a malicious user got into any one of those systems, then they have the potential to see what’s traveling through the wire. Normally, web requests are sent over regular HTTP, where a client’s request and the server’s response are both sent as plain text.
Public key encryption is a type of cryptographic system where each party has both a private and a public key, which are mathematically linked to each other. The public key is used for encrypting plaintext to “ciphertext” (essentially, gibberish), while the private key is used for decrypting that gibberish back into plaintext.
Once a message has been encrypted by a public key, it can only be decrypted with the corresponding private key. Neither key can perform both functions by itself. The public key can be published freely without compromising the security of the system, but the private key must not be revealed to anyone who isn’t authorized to decrypt messages.
Most web browsers have some way to notify you that you are navigating within a set of secure web pages. Possible indications that you are connected to a secure web server are:
- The URL for a secure web page will always begin with https instead of the typical http.
- If the feature is enabled, your browser may notify you before it connects to a secure web server and displays the first page.
- A symbol representing a lock may appear in a locked position somewhere on your browser (often in the bottom right corner).
Result
Interpretation
Access https://abcwindows.internal.com/erpplanning.aspx
Success
Secure connection
Access http://abcwindows.internal.com/erpplanning.aspx
Failure
No secure connection, missing certificate
Access http://www.abcwindows.com
Failure
No secure connection
Access https://www.abcwindows.com
Success
Secure connection
When you make a request to visit a website, that request must pass through many different networks. Any of these networks could be used to potentially eavesdrop or tamper with your connection. If a malicious user got into any one of those systems, then they have the potential to see what’s traveling through the wire. Normally, web requests are sent over regular HTTP, where a client’s request and the server’s response are both sent as plain text.
Public key encryption is a type of cryptographic system where each party has both a private and a public key, which are mathematically linked to each other. The public key is used for encrypting plaintext to “ciphertext” (essentially, gibberish), while the private key is used for decrypting that gibberish back into plaintext.
Once a message has been encrypted by a public key, it can only be decrypted with the corresponding private key. Neither key can perform both functions by itself. The public key can be published freely without compromising the security of the system, but the private key must not be revealed to anyone who isn’t authorized to decrypt messages.
Most web browsers have some way to notify you that you are navigating within a set of secure web pages. Possible indications that you are connected to a secure web server are:
- The URL for a secure web page will always begin with https instead of the typical http.
- If the feature is enabled, your browser may notify you before it connects to a secure web server and displays the first page.
- A symbol representing a lock may appear in a locked position somewhere on your browser (often in the bottom right corner).