>>Yeah I know this one belongs in the Internet Forum, but it's a waste land over there and this is bugging me :)
>>
>>What's the difference between http and https (that I see some urls beginning with nowadays)? TIA!
>
>Roxanne,
>
>all the other guys said is right, but not clear enough for me. When having a connection with https protocol, then your browser will encrypt the data before sending it to the webserver. The data on the net is (theoretically) sure because encrypted. In the US you have an 128 bit key for encryption, here in Europe only a 40 bit key (easy to crack)..

You have the option of getting the 128 bit cipher-enabled browser components; the standard distribution is still the 40 bit security version. You have to go through a few hoops to download the 128 bit version - you can only download the 128 bit components from an internet connection where the ISP will verify the locatiuon of your connection. The MSDN distribution, and the standard CDs that ship to customers, are still the 40 bit key.