Browser Encryption

Browser encryption is a form of cryptography that uses simple encryption algorithms to protect a user’s information while he/she accesses the Internet. While a user may implement virtually any kind of browser related encryption protocol in his/her browser via security plug-ins and add-ons, most forms of browser encryption can already be found in the user’s browser. If a user wishes to have a more secure browser than the one he/she is currently using, he/she could simply download another browser or run a third party application to secure his/her personal information.

SSL

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a protocol encryption technique that NetScape Communications developed, which protects the user’s personal information by encrypting data sent back and forth between a client and a server. SSL was once the standard browser encryption method that most websites used and is still extremely popular today although TLS recently succeeded it.

In order to activate an SSL connection, a client must determine whether a server has SSL enabled. If it does, the client sends the server a list of ciphers and hash functions that it understands and the server chooses the strongest cipher and hash function that it recognizes. The server then sends the client a public encryption key that the client then combines with the cipher that the server has chosen in order to encrypt all the data that it sends to the server. The server then uses its private key to decrypt the information and uses its public key to encrypt any information sent back to the client. The client and server communicate in this way until the connection is terminated.

TLS

TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a browser encryption protocol that is very similar to SSL, but uses stronger ciphers and hash functions. While SSL and TSL are similar, they are not interoperable and cannot be used at the same time. Although TLS is now the standard encryption protocol used in browser based communications between clients and servers, most servers are still dependent on SSL.

Anonymizing Proxies

Although SSL and TLS are both very reliable encryption methods for communicating on secure servers, they are not useful for protecting a user’s information during regular web activities. To increase a web browser’s daily security, users can take advantage of anonymizing proxies, which are proxy programs that can run in the browser’s background and secure the user’s web activities and demographic information by routing it through a series of proxy servers and client based proxies.