Hows of website security, any information is helpful.?

Question

I was wondering about how websites such as paypal declare their websites safe, what programming language do they use? And what exactly is HTTPS?

Thanks a lot!

PS: If you're wondering, it's for a science project.

Answer 1

companies like Paypal are declared safe because they are encrypted so that hackers can not steal users information. the sites that are encrypted have a certificate from companies such as Verisign or Commodo. HTTPS is a more secure version of HTTP. hope this helps!

Answer 2

Lee J is correct about HTTPS security. It is encrypted with a good strength key (typically AES 128 or 256) which in practice can be considered unbreakable.

However, there is a good deal more to declaring a site secure than that. It must, at a minimum, do the following:

1. Not reveal information to an unauthorised user. For many websites, any user is welcome to the website but in the case of PayPal, minimum information should be shared with an unauthorised user. Ideally, it should not be possible to verify that a user account exist without a valid account to check from.

2. Require authentication before allowing a transaction

3. Be reasonable immune to attacks such as SQL injection and other common hacks

4. Offer a reasonable level of confidentiality - and this relates to the web site staff as much as the technology

Hope that helps. There is more information on some types of website attack on my website (see sources)

Mark