What is SSL?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It sits squarely between Layer 4 (TCP) and Layer 7 (Application, typically HTTP), and can be used to encrypt arbitrary TCP streams.

Why SSL and certificates exist? Encryption and Identification. Encryption is the process of hiding what is sent from one computer to another. Identification is making sure the computer you are speaking to us is the one you trust.

The encryption process is basically this:

Step one: Computers agree on how to encrypt.

Step two: Sends certificate (server).

Step three: Computer says “Proceed!”

Basically when you send a packet on the internet. LOTS of people can potentially read it. SSL encrrpts your packets, but the same data and path remains the same. The difference is that the message itself is encrypted so that no one can see the data.

The client says hello, here is my SSL certificate and my half of the key exchange. The client says “Here's my half of the key exchange”. The server says “Neat”. Once they agree on a key and put them together, they can encrypt all the communication between the servers. And there are many ways SSL can encrypted their messages.