Knowledgebase

Common Protocols You Will Encounter Print

  • networking, security, imap, https, ftp, smtp, dns, ssl
  • 0

What each is for.

HTTP AND HTTPS

Web traffic. HTTPS is the encrypted form, and what everything should use.

SMTP

Sending mail between servers and from clients.

IMAP AND POP

Retrieving mail. IMAP keeps mail on the server; POP downloads it.

FTP, FTPS AND SFTP

File transfer. Plain FTP sends credentials readable; use the encrypted forms.

SSH

Encrypted command-line access to a server.

DNS

Name resolution.

DHCP

Automatic address assignment on a local network.

NTP

Time synchronisation.

Frequently overlooked, and a wrong clock breaks certificates and authentication.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

Each has conventional ports, and each has secure and insecure variants where applicable.

WHAT TO ALWAYS PREFER

The encrypted variant.

WHAT TO DISABLE

Insecure variants you do not need.


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