What is the difference between HTTP and https?

Before we can go into the jungle of what is the difference between these two synonymous acronyms, we need to first get an understanding of what they mean, stand for and relate to. HTTP refers to  HyperText Transfer Protocol.

I presume probably half of the readers have dozed off at this juncture. Maybe we should start by describing the Protocol in itself before we can go about explaining its sub-contents from herewith.

A protocol can be in layman terms as the guidelines or rules that computers are supposed to adhere to as they communicate with each other. Basically, it schedules and dictates processes like the beginning of a conversation, its basis of reply and the sequence of communication and finally the end of it.

HTTP is normally referred to as a stateless protocol because it has the ability and capacity to support various network configurations over a general network setup.

On the other hand, HTTPS which stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure is the most secure protocol that enables the facilitation of data transfer between browsers and websites whilst ensuring their security by applying some acute level of encryption on the data being sent.

Through this basis, the previous threats of password theft, email theft, and even credit card theft is largely quashed as the only ones privy to the sensitive details are the end users on both sides of the network.

This means that for communication to take place there has to be presence of certificates. The certificates assist in relaying secure and confidential checks to confirm to the end user that the data was successfully transferred with no determents and errors or intrusion.

Therefore, it is no wonder that the HTTPS is the most trusted and most reliable protocol for using and sharing web data over the internet.