Website security is immensely important, especially if you’re running a business. The average data breach reached a record-breaking cost of $4.35 million in 2022. This is detrimental to businesses online, not to mention its consequences to their reputation. No customer would trust a website with frail security.
Measures like encryption and authentication are crucial to protecting your digital assets from hacks, sensitive data leaks, and other threats.
This is where an HTTPS standard port becomes relevant. It’s a network port for secure communications between web servers and browsers. This post will walk you through what HTTPS ports are and how they work to ensure your data is safe online.
Understanding Networking Ports and Their Uses
Before deep diving into HTTPS ports, it’s important to develop a general understanding of network ports.
A network port is simply a way of communication from which data transmissions are either sent or received. Typically, different devices have different ports identified by a different number.
Among these are:
- Port 443 default for managing HTTPS web traffic
- Port 80 for managing HTTP web traffic
- Port 21 and 22 for file transfer protocol (FTP)
- Port 25 for outgoing simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP)
When users visit a website, their system connects to the web server using a dedicated network port (either Port 80 or the more secure HTTPS Port 443) based on the connection.
The web server then works on it and sends back the website information to the user’s system through the same port.
What Is an HTTPS Port?
HTTPS or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is a secure version of the HTTP protocol that uses the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol for encryption and authentication.
Unlike HTTP’s port 80, HTTPS uses port 443 by default. Also, each HTTPS port has a unique number that differentiates it from the others.
Default HTTPS Port 443 is used for secure HTTPS connections that protect any communication happening in the web browser. For instance, when a user accesses an HTTPS website, it sends a request to its hosting server using network port 443 or 8443.
The server then connects to the requested port, which is encrypted in the case of HTTPS, to send the service to the website. This allows web hosting server users to send and receive internet data without worrying about security concerns.
Put simply, an HTTPS standard port allows you to create a secure encrypted connection between the browser and the server to offer the bi-directional security of data. In turn, it helps to protect potentially sensitive information from being compromised or stolen.
What Does HTTPS Do?
When configured properly, an HTTPS connection help ensures three things:
Confidentiality
HTTPS encrypts the visitor’s connection, thus obscuring all cookies, URLs, and other sensitive metadata.
Integrity
HTTPS ensures that the data sent between the visitor and the website is not compromised, tampered with, or modified in any way.
Authenticity
HTTPS also guarantees that the website visitor is interacts with the real website and not with an impersonator.
Common HTTPS Port Numbers
As mentioned earlier, ports are used for various services and are mainly segregated by numbers. The two most commonly used HTTPS ports are 443 and 8443.
In this section, we’ll see what each of these ports stands for and how they operate.
Port 443
Port 443 is a web browsing port used for HTTPS services. Put simply, it is another type of HTTP that offers encryption and transport over secure ports.
The port secures connections with web browsers to prevent hacking, interception, and theft of data transmitted across the internet.
Port 8443
Port 8443 is similar to a virtual port used primarily by computers to divert network traffic.
A primary protocol utilized by the Apache Tomcat web server, the primary purpose of Port 8443 is to open the SSL text service. Additionally, this port is used as an HTTPS Client Authentication connection protocol.
List of Other HTTPS Port Numbers
Apart from the above two, several other HTTPS port numbers offer the same services the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) list of registries. Below are a few of them available:
- 443 HTTPS
- 631 Internet Printing Protocol over HTTPS
- 664 DMTF out-of-band secure web services management protocol
- 1184 LL Surfup HTTPS
- 2381 Compaq HTTPS
- 4849 App Server – Admin HTTPS
- 5443 Pearson HTTPS
- 6443 Service Registry Default HTTPS Domain
- 6771 PolyServe HTTPS
- Administration Console HTTPS
- 16993 Intel(R) AMT SOAP/HTTPS20003 Contact HTTPS
How Is HTTP Different From HTTPS
Here are some of the key differences between HTTP port and HTTPS:
Security
HTTP does not have a proper security layer to secure or encrypt the data. In contrast, HTTPS offers TLS/SSL Digital Certificate to secure communication between a client and the server.
Port Number
While HTTP operates on or is equivalent to port 80, HTTPS operates on or is equivalent to port 443 by default.
Operation
Unlike HTTP, which operates at the Application Layer, HTTPS operates at the Transport Layer.
Speed
HTTP is comparatively faster than HTTPS because HTTPS uses better computation power to secure and encrypt the communication between client and server.
Data Transfer
While HTTP transfers data in plain text, HTTPS transfers data in cipher text (encrypted text).
How HTTPS Works
HTTPS uses the Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate (an updated SSL certificate) to ensure that client and web server communication remains safe and secure. Here is how it works:
a. TLS first encrypts the communication channel between the server and the browser. A website with TLS encryption has a padlock symbol attached to its URL to signal users that it’s “secure.” Otherwise, it will have a “Not secure” warning.
b. As soon as the web browser sends a request to the website, all information being sent or transmitted using HTTPS, such as name, contact number, and login details, remains encrypted.
c. Encryption is the process that restricts the internet service provider (ISP) from intercepting, accessing, or making sense of any communication between the web browser and the web server.
Why Use an HTTPS Port?
Here are some reasons why HTTPS ports are essential for your website:
More Secure
HTTPS is a more secure option for users and website owners as it encrypts the data in transit in both directions, i.e., going to and coming from the original server.
The protocol helps keep communications secure so hackers can’t access or see what data is being sent. Further, if websites need to send sensitive data to users (for instance, bank account information), encryption helps to protect that data as well.
More Trustworthy
Since HTTPS uses the SSL/TLS protocol to encrypt any communication, it makes websites with HTTPS more trustworthy.
SSL/TLS prevents hackers from stealing data and confirms the website server or owner details to prevent impersonation.
The SEO/Search Value
The website domains with the letter https in front of the www get a clear advantage over their old HTTP counterpart. Google values user safety and therefore favors secure sites for search engines rankings.
Mobile Technology
Another significant benefit of choosing HTTPS is mobile technology. As Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is an increasingly important part of optimizing your domain for smartphones, it helps to speed up loading times on mobile devices.
And this AMP content only works with sites that HTTPS serves.
How to Use HTTPS For Your Website
For websites, it is important to use HTTPS from a security viewpoint, especially if they ask for confidential information from their users. The first requirement is to obtain a security certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA) to enable or use HTTPS on your website.
You can choose from six different certificate types available depending on the factors such as the number of domains you have or the level of validation you need.
Organization Validated Certificate
It validates details such as site ownership, domain name, city, country of origin, etc.
Domain Validated Certificate
It validates if the requesting organization controls the domain before issuing a certificate.
Single-Name Certificate
It helps you protect a single subdomain/hostname.
Extended Validation Certificate
It validates the details such as the organization’s owner/s, legal status, and location.
Multi-Domain Certificates
It helps you protect as many as a hundred domains, subdomains, and public IP addresses.
Wildcard Certificate
It helps you protect an unlimited number of subdomains for a single domain.
Once you have clarity on which certificate to go with, you need to buy and install the same on your server to enable HTTPS and a secure connection.
How to Switch from HTTP Port to HTTPS Port?
Here is the process you can follow to switch from an HTTP port number to an HTTPS port number:
- First, determine if you require a single, multi-domain, or wildcard certificate.
- Once you decide on the certificate required, use 2048-bit key certificates to obtain a Certificate Signing Request on your web server.
- At this stage, make sure to maintain a current SSL certificate.
- Then, you need to use relative URLs for the resources on the same secure domain.
- Next, use server-side 301 HTTP redirects for redirects to the HTTPS pages.
- Lastly, verify if your website returns the same HTTP status code.
How Can You Use Port 443?
Here’s how to enable port 443 on different operating systems such as Windows, Mac, Linux, and more.
A. How to Enable Port 443 On Windows
To ensure that Port 443 is enabled on Windows, add it to the Windows Firewall. Here’s how to do it:
- Go to the Control Panel or Firewall by typing Start > Run followed by typing firewall.cpl.
- Once done, select Advanced Settings on the left-hand side, then go to Inbound Rules.
- Then, go to the New Rule on the Action column’s right side.
- You’ll be directed to a new window then. Here, select TCP, find Specific local ports and write 443 next to it.
- Select Allow the connection shown in the next Action window.
- Select Domain in the next step, followed by clicking on Next.
- Lastly, type WCF-WF 4.0 Samples in the ‘name’ window, and then click Finish to complete the process.
B. How to Enable Port 443 On Mac
To enable Port 443 on Mac, you need to ensure that your firewall is not enabled before following the below steps:
- Go to the Terminal app and open the same.
- Enter the below command to stop the active packet filler firewall (if required):
sudo pfctl -d
- Once done, you need to open the configuration file for pf by making use of the nano text editor:
sudo nano /etc/pf.conf.
- Once in the editor, make sure to add your own custom rules.
- Now, enter the command below at the bottom of the file to open the HTTPS port 8443:
pass in inet proto tcp from any to any port 443
- Use Ctrl-x now to exit nano and save the file with the same name.
- Use the specified command to reload the firewall’s settings:
sudo pfctl -f /etc/pf.conf
- Lastly, restart the firewall using the below command:
sudo pfctl -E
C. How to Enable Port 443 On Ubuntu
If you have an Ubuntu firewall named ufw, the command you need to use to enable Port 80 and 443 is sudo ufw allow 80.
D. How to Enable Port 443 On CentOS
To enable Port 80 and 443 on CentOS, you can use the command firewall-cmd –add-port=80/tcp –permanent.
E. How to Enable Port 443 On Linux
To enable port 443 on Linux, the first thing you need to do is check all the open ports using the netstat or ss command as given below:
netstat –into
ss -into
Once you test the open ports, use the below commands to allow TCP connections:
netstat -na | grep:80
ss -na | grep:80
Conclusion
A guaranteed a hundred percent security online is impossible. Even industry giants like Google and Facebook, who have leading experts and world-class tools to run their security systems, fall victim to cyberattacks from time to time.
A great defense system is crucial to keep threats at bay and immediately fix hiccups that might become security issues later. It’s vital to understand how HTTPS ports work and how they provide the protection you and your users need.
An HTTPS port is more secure than HTTP as it offers completely safe and encrypted communication between the browser and server, making sensitive or confidential data unreadable by hackers. Therefore, it is always recommended to connect through HTTPS port 443 for surfing the internet instead of choosing an unsafe HTTP Port 80.
