Establishing a Secure Connection — How SSL Works

A secure, SSL-encrypted connection is established via the SSL
“handshake“ process, which transpires within seconds —
transparently to the end user. In essence, the SSL “handshake“
works thus:

†  When accessing an SSL-secured Web site area, the visitor’s
     browser requests a secure session from the Web server.

†  The server responds by sending the visitor’s browser its server
     certificate.

†  The browser verifies that the server’s certificate is valid, is being
     used by the Web site for which it has been issued, and has been issued
     by a Certificate Authority that the browser trusts.

†  If the certificate is validated, the browser generates a one-time
     “session“ key and encrypts it with the server’s public key.

†  The visitor’s browser sends the encrypted session key to the
     server so that both server and browser have a copy.

†  The server decrypts the session key using its private key.

†  The SSL “handshake“ process is complete, and a secure SSL connection
     has been established.

†  A padlock icon appears in the browser’s status bar, indicating
     that a secure session is under way..
 

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