HTTP

When you enter a URL in the browser, such as http://mysecurecyberspace.com, the browser sends a command to the server requesting for the homepage. The server establishes the connection and responds by sending a reply containing the Web page. This request/response communication between a client, such as a browser, and the server is called hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP). HTTP is a communication protocol that defines how messages are sent across the World Wide Web.

HTTP was originally designed to provide a way to publish HTML pages, which is the typical format of Web pages. Once a browser receives a page and interprets the HTML, it displays and renders the Web page for viewing.

HTTP runs over the TCP/IP protocol. An HTTP client initiates a request by establishing a TCP connection to a remote host on port 80. An HTTP server listening on that port waits for the client to send a request message. After receiving the request, the server sends an acknowl edgement that the request was indeed received and sends back the requested Web page.

It was standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium which published the HTTP/1.1, the most commonly used version of HTTP, as part of RFC 2616 .

Note that HTTP is not secure for sensitive transactions, such as accessing your bank account, making payments, giving out personal information, login using passwords etc. So nowadays, HTTPS is used for such transactions to add a security layer on top of HTTP.