web-server web-server If security is such a big deal on webs, why doesn't this FAQ talk more about it?

web-server What is HTTP? What is HTTPd? What web server software is available for Microsoft Windows NT? Is HTTP software available for other platforms? Can I use one computer to serve several webs? What are Server Side Includes (SSI)? What are ISAPI. NSAPI and WSAPI? What is FastCGI? What are Active Server Pages (ASP)? What is an application server? How do web servers communicate with databases? If security is such a big deal on webs, why doesn't this FAQ talk more about it?

How secure is the encryption used by SSL? SSL uses public-key encryption to exchange a session key between the client and server; this session key is used to encrypt the http transaction (both request and response). Each transaction uses a different session key so that if someone manages to decrypt a transaction, that does not mean that they've found the server's secret key; if they want to decrypt another transaction, they'll need to spend as much time and effort on the second transaction as they did on the first. Netscape servers and browsers do encryption using either a 40-bit secret key or a 128-bit secret key. Many people feel that using a 40-bit key is insecure because it's vulnerable to a "brute force" attack (trying each of the 2^40 possible keys until you find the one that decrypts the message). Using a 128-bit key eliminates this problem because there are 2^128 instead of 2^40 possible keys. Unfortunately, most Netscape users have browsers that support only 40-bit secret keys. This is because of legal restrictions on the encryption software that can be exported from the United States (The Federal Government has recently modified this policy on following the well-publicized cracking of a Netscape message encrypted using a 40-bit key. Expect this situation to change). In Netscape you can tell what kind of encryption is in use for a particular document by looking at the "document" information" screen accessible from the file menu. The little key in the lower left-hand corner of the Netscape window also indicates this information. A solid key with two teeth means 128-bit encryption, a solid key with one tooth means 40-bit encryption, and a broken key means no encryption. Even if your browser supports 128-bit encryption, it may use 40-bit encryption when talking to older Netscape servers or Netscape servers outside the U.S. and Canada.