Secure Sockets Layer

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

Secure Sockets Layer

   <networking, security> (SSL) A {protocol} designed by
   {Netscape Communications Corporation} to provide secure
   communications over the {Internet} using {asymmetric key
   encryption}.  SSL is layered beneath application {protocols}
   such as {HTTP}, {SMTP}, {Telnet}, {FTP}, {Gopher} and {NNTP}
   and is layered above the connection protocol {TCP/IP}.  It is
   used by the {HTTPS} {access method}.

   (2007-05-25)