ULTIMATE BEGINNER HANDBOOK TO COMPUTER HACKING ESSENTIALS: LEARN ETHICAL HACKING, PENETRATION TESTING AND BASIC SECURITY: 50+ FREE RESOURCES TO HELP YOU MASTER THE ART OF HACKING (2015)

SSH, HTTPS, HTTP, SSL AND FTP: WEB SAFETY

As an Ethical Hacker, most of the issues that you will be solving will be dealing with the internet. This means that you not only have to know the software issues and how to protect from the computer, but you will also want to know how to safely transfer information across the internet. There are four primary methods of transferring information and each one has its restriction. Additionally, the more secure it is the more selective the freedom of range the transfer module will allow you.

SSH

SSH literally stands for Secure Shell and it is extremely useful for logging into another computer over the network, move files, and generally have control of the computer. This comes in replacement of a lot of technology that did similar things and is almost unbreakable. It is the current standard of web development and is expected whenever a website is developed. It protects against DNS spoofing, which is a way that a hacker can gain even further access into your system by creating a computer that your network recognizes. It also prevents IP source routing so that the hacker can’t use the Tracert command to get into your website, and we’ll show you an example of this later on so you know how this is used.

HTTPS

HTTPS literally means Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure, which is similar to SSH but with less restrictions. SSH is primarily used to transfer data over a local network while HTTPS is used to transfer information over the web browser for consumers. This allows for a secure connection to take place over the world wide web.

HTTP

HTTP is similar to HTTPS and has many of the same functions of the newer version, but it is considered to be not really secure. The difference between the two really just has to do with where the website is located and the type of server that it’s located on. If an HTTP websites is located on an HTTPS server, you can just put the S in front of the address like this;

“HTTPS://www.website.com”

It will work just as it would with the HTTP. However, HTTP has been around a long time is still rather popular among businesses since upgrading their website to HTTPS is not really a requirement at this time. The only benefit between the two is that HTTP is actually faster and less problematic that HTTPS since it does not have to go through as many protocols.

SSL

SSL literally means Secure Socket Layer and is a little bit different, mainly dealing with transactions, but it is important to note that SSL is a standards-based method that enables HTTPS and allows the connection to be encrypted. This is the software that makes HTTPS a viable option for security and protects its users from outside attacks that can come through the website.

FTP

FTP literally means File Transfer Protocol and it is the older method to SSH. FTP and SSH are both ways to transfer files over the internet to the server. FTP is similar to HTTP and is rather old technology, but it still fairly common among businesses.

SSH AND FTP ARE SERVER SIDE TRANSFER, WHILE HTTP AND HTTPS ARE WEB SIDE TRANSFER

They all use the internet to do what they are supposed to do, but one involves transferring files to the server over the internet and the other deals with transfer files from the server over the internet for the consumer to see. The difference between the effective uses of these technologies will determine how easy it is for a hacker to come in to your network and do what they want. An open connection on an FTP server hosting an HTTP service is the easiest way to lose control of an entire website. As an Ethical Hacker, these choices may actually be out of your control for the company that decides to hire you, but it is important to be aware of these to ensure that you can display your skills at their fullest potential.