HTTP and HTTPS protocols

The HTTP protocol (for Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a client-server communication protocol that allows sending and receiving information from and to web servers. It's the basis to access all the internet resources.

When the HTTP protocol is used, information is unencrypted and so is the connection. The information exchanged is therefore visible and could be retrieved by a third person.

In contrast, the HTTPS protocol (S for Secure) is secured. It uses a coding protocol, the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol, that allows for an encrypted connection between client and server. Only those who have the decoding key will be able to decode the information.

This is the right protocol to exchange confidential data, for example in the case of a connection page, especially when sensible data, such as bank details, are involved.

Why use HTTPS on Actito?

Actito forms are not conceived to work as connection pages and the images that you use in your campaigns are, generally speaking, not confidential. On top of that, the use of HTTP is not banned.

So, why using a secured protocol then?

There are several reasons to use HTTPS in your license:

• Your profiles might state personal data in your public forms.

• You use profile attributes in your image parameters.

• When using HTTPS, the browser address bar that will show that the connection with the sites hosted by your subdomain is secured (just like in the Actito sites example above). Browsers also mark HTTP pages as not secure connections.

• In the B2B sector, the network configuration of some organizations, including yours, might not trust the HTTP protocol. That's why it's necessary to whitelist your subdomain.

• Google Chrome and, by extension, Chromium, the latest version of Microsoft Edge, refuse the so-called mixed content, that is to say, a site using HTTPS (such as your Actito license) loading resources in HTTP (such as the images hosted by your subdomain). This is the reason why you won't be able to view the images in the HTML editor preview. This restriction doesn't apply to other browsers, like Mozilla Firefox and Safari.

• It is expected that Chrome will push more and more for the standardisation of HTTPS and that other browsers will follow the trend.

How to use HTTPS?

The HTTPS protocol requires setting up an SSL certificate. This certificate verifies that a domain belongs to an organization or company.

Your link subdomain is usually based on your sending domain, which is usually in your company's name but delegated to Actito. This form of joint guardianship means that there are 2 options to set up the SSL certificate on your domain.

• The default option is to let Actito handle the whole certificate process: using the Let's Encrypt solution, we will generate a free certificate, valid for 3 months but automatically renewed. This standard certificate will not be tied to the name of your Organization.

• The other option is to handle the certificate on your side, by purchasing a custom certificate with a signing request in the name of your company and transferring it to Actito. Purchased certificates are usually valid 1 year and are the way to go if you want to display the legal name of your Organization when a user clicks on the details of the certificate.