What does SSL stand for and how does it relate to TLS?

beginner

Re-explain

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. TLS (Transport Layer Security) is the successor to SSL. While people often use "SSL" colloquially, modern implementations actually use TLS.

Timeline:

SSL 1.0: Never released (had security flaws)
SSL 2.0: Released 1995, now deprecated
SSL 3.0: Released 1996, now deprecated
TLS 1.0: Released 1999 (based on SSL 3.0)
TLS 1.1: Released 2006
TLS 1.2: Released 2008
TLS 1.3: Released 2018 (current standard)

When someone says "SSL certificate" today, they're actually referring to a certificate used with TLS.

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