Definition: HTTPS

(HyperText Transport Protocol Secure) The protocol used to access a secure Web server. When https:// is used as the prefix of a Web address rather than http://, the session is managed by a security protocol such as TLS, and the transmission is encrypted to and from the Web server.

Increasingly, all websites use HTTPS; for example, in 2015, Wikipedia switched to HTTPS. For details about the HTTP protocol, see HTTP. To learn about the security protocol, see TLS and security protocol. See HSTS and HTTPS Everywhere.

The Closed Lock

A closed padlock indicates the website is accessed via HTTPS, which almost every site is these days. In this example, the complete address is https://www.nytimes.com.

A Lot of Secure Traffic

Today, way more HTTPS packets traverse the Internet than regular HTTP; witness this metric from a router in a home.