What is SSL?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and is used to establish a secure connection between the website and the visitor (the server hosting the website and the client), which prevents prying, criminal eyes to intercept the connection and and possibly steal sensitive personal information such as login, passwords, messages, bank or credit cards information.

The first realized version of SSL was SSL 2.0 from 1995, while the last was SSL 3.0 from 1996. After that, SSL has been depreciated and given way to TLS, the modern encryption which neutralized some known SSL security bugs / flaws.

What is TLS?

TLS stands for Transport Layer Security and is used like SSL for establish a secure connection between the website and the visitor. TLS has practically replaced the depreciated SSL and it is in fact the modern version of SSL encryption.

The first version of TLS, TLS 1.0, dates from 1999, and the latest TLS 1.3 from 2018. Although today's security certificates known as SSL certificates, since SSL is a metaphor for security and encryption, in practice they are actually TLS certificates, so whether these certificates are called SSL or TLS does not change much, since everything boils down to a securely encrypted connection between the client and the server via HTTPS protocol. And we, like many, will name them with SSL instead of TLS .

What is an SSL certificate?

If the connection is secure, reliable and has a valid SSL certificate, then in the url, before the domain name, there is a prefix https, which stands for 'Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure' and uses port 443 to connect.

If the connection is insecure, unreliable and does not have a valid SSL certificate, then in the url, before the domain name, there is the prefix http which is short for 'Hyper Text Transfer Protocol' and uses port 80 for connection.

In short, the SSL certificate is a type of digital verification of the security connection between the server and the client (web browser) and is of crucial importance for the security of the connection and the protection of security and trust between the website and visitors.

HTTP vs HTTPS Connection

At the same time, it is the most important difference between HTTP and HTTPS. It's the letter 'S' in HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), which stands for secure, data security, which in the case of HTTPS symbolizes the use of TLS/SSL certificate to encrypt a normal, unencrypted Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) connection, where sensitive visitors data are stripped of all protection.

Less important differences are reflected in the port they use, which we mentioned earlier. HTTPS uses 443, while HTTP uses port 80, then the important and slight difference in speed is mentioned. Namely, HTTPS is a bit slower than HTTP, precisely because of SSL.

SSL Checker and Validation Process

SSL checker, as part of the SSL validation process, is an online tool that tests or rather checks the security connection for the requested website and the eventual validation of the SSL certificate, if the web page uses it. In practice, this means directly accessing the SSL certificate the website uses, then doing a full SSL certificate check with the following possible results:

• The certificate is valid  
• The certificate is not valid if:
  • The website does not use an SSL certificate at all
  • The website uses a self-signed SSL certificate, which is considered insecure and therefore invalid
  • The website uses an SSL certificate that has expired and is therefore considered invalid

Together with the result of the certification test, you will also see the name of the certificate, when the certificate was purchased, how long it lasts, and the certificate authority from which it was purchased, as well as the serial number of the certificate, Subject Public Key (SubjectKeyIdentifier), Subject Alternative Name, Authority Key Identifier, Certificate Policies and Crl Distribution Points.

The certificate validation process is transparent and very detailed, so you can see an analysis of all the details with a conclusion regarding its validity.