Sophos Cloud Optix
Welcome to another episode of Techknow, the podcast in which Sophos experts debate, explore and explain the often baffling world of computer security.
In this episode, entitled Understanding SSL, Paul Ducklin and Chester Wisniewski look into the ecosystem of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transaction Layer Security).
SSL is often taken for granted.
To many of us, it’s not much more than “the S in HTTPS”, or “the padlock in the browser.”
But how does it work? Are SSL and TLS the same? Who verifies SSL certificates? How do we know we can trust them? What happens if we realise we can’t? What technological glitches do we need to know about?
Duck and Chet discuss all this, and more, in this quarter-hour podcast.
Listen now:
Listen later:
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Sorry for being thick, but what's the RSS/XML feed for this podcast? I'd like to add it to my podcatcher etc.
Thanks!
Is it Ok to say TLS stands for "Transaction Layer Security" rather than what it's originally known as "TRANSPORT Layer Security"?
Why call TLS by a name other than its official one? That's just confusing at best 🙂
Thing is, TLS really is about _transport_ layer security (that's "transport" as in the ponderous nine-layer [*] ISO OSI network architecture model). Once you've established a TLS-protected connection, you will probably end up using it for many _transactions_.
Since it isn't strictly about transaction layer security, I wouldn't call it by that name.
[*] I am aware that ISO OSI has seven official layers. I like to add two more at the top – above Application comes Political, and above Political comes Religious. Mnemonic aid: "Peter Dives Near The Swimming Pool Attendant, Practising Regularly."
Is there a transcript?
Not yet…I have to do them myself, and I am about as far from a stenographer as possible, so it takes me absolutely ages to get them right…and it's a gorgeous, sunny mid-winter's morning…and it's the weekend…and I want to head off to watch a football match which ought to end in victory for my local team…and it's an away game in Bondi, a short walk from the world-famous beach…and I haven't been to the beach in ages…and it would be a really good day to do some laundry, what with the sun and all…and…I can't think of any more excuses 🙂
No transcript yet. Sorry about that.
So, I have SSL-EV. All is fine green bars etc in Firefox, Opera, and IE. But in Chrome, it tosses out a warning. I have contacted several folks including Verisign and my managing hosting service, but they say all is fine. Any thoughts?
Errr…what's the warning? Have you asked around on a Chrome mailing list? Might be a place to start…
Hi, I work for VeriSign, or Symantec SSL as it is now known, have you contacted our customer support? Let me know where you are based through Twitter and I can get somebody to contact you.
Wow! I was very impressed. This is the first of your podcasts I’ve listened to. The format of questions and answers as opposed to a discussion provided an excellent guide through the topic. Often, discussions can be rambling and can confuse the listener with confusing structure and tangential excursions. Chester’s explanations were wonderful. They were structured, concise, well-phrased, and clear.
(I do wish I was having as good of luck using the Mac free version of your software. It confounds me by not cleaning up threats that it says it will. Perhaps I will grasp this with time.)
I am your newest fan and am eager to learn more from you two.
Thanks for the kind words. Chester is rather good at explaining things, isn't he 🙂
As far as our free Mac software goes – you might want to take a look at http://openforum.sophos.com/
Head to the "MacTalk" community – you may find the advice you need.
As for the Techknow podcast – if there are any topics you'd like to see covered, please email us: tips@sophos.com.