Secure Socket Layer Test

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What Does Secure Socket Layer Test Mean?

A Secure Socket Layer test (SSL test) is the testing of an SSL server, certificate or site. SSL tests help to indicate the approval of an SSL certificate, or whether an SSL system is set up correctly.

Techopedia Explains Secure Socket Layer Test

Secure Socket Layer is part of a layered security protocol that follows the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model for multilayer systems. It was developed by Netscape, and used in various Web browser products to facilitate security for data transactions. One way to explain SSL is that it "sits on top of" the TCP protocol in common IP/TCP traffic and uses a combination of public and private encryption keys to establish legitimacy for Web requests.

It is also important to note that SSL has led to a newer security protocol called transport layer security (TLS). Although the two security protocols are not interoperable, there is some compatibility.

An SSL test can determine aspects of an SLL server’s configuration and performance. A different and perhaps more common type of SSL test can help to identify problems with digital certificates, or help a web manager to see whether an SSL certificate approves his or her site as safe and secure.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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