http vs https - it sure looks better with a secure website!

I think it was about a month ago that I did some research and worked with sniffing data from unsecured networks. It was very interesting. I was actually using an encrypted network, but I tried to steal data gathered from websites using port 80, that is, the normal HTTP protocol, instead of https running at port 443. I tested on one of my own websites, and it was interesting that using Wireshark, I could quite easily find me sending information through forms on that given website. Of course, there are thousands and millions of packages sent on a wireless network normally, but you can easily use the search function to find packages that might be of interest to you. So, if someone submit an email address and a password, then you can snif it quite easily.

But, who would submit such data on a website that isn't secure? After all, email sites all use encryption and SSL/TSL certificates. As a result, this isn't very dangerous. But, you should still be careful, because there are phishing sites and more that also run unencrypted, and that fake the real websites.

That is why I decided earlier today to fix the server and get a real SSL certificate up and running. Unfortunately, my host required me to pay a lot for such a certificate. As a result, I decided to move the website to my own server in which I could have it all fixed with Let's Encrypt easily.

Now, a few hours later, the website no longer has an open lock next to the address, but it has a closed lock and it looks much better, and it feels much better. I should probably add that Google also supports this, because they have a tendency to let sites using secure protocols rank better in results than those operating without security.

How do you feel on such a Saturday? Would you like to take a look at one of the sites I am working with? Visit https://www.hungarybudapestguide.com/

If you are bored, come to Budapest and drink some hot wine at the Christmas markets in town.