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GCSE Computer Science/Paper 1/Wired and wireless networks, protocols and layers

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)

Common protocols: HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)

1.3.2 Wired and wireless networks, protocols and layers

Practise exam questions

Wired and wireless networks, protocols and layers — Note 7 of 13

What you need to know

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is used for transferring web pages between web servers and browsers. It defines how browsers request pages and how servers respond with the content.

What to know

  • HTTP is NOT encrypted — data is sent in plain text, which can be intercepted and read.
  • Used for standard web browsing where security is not critical.

Key terms

HTTPHypertext Transfer Protocol

The protocol used for transferring web pages and other content between web servers and web browsers.

Exam technique

  • Tip:HTTP is INSECURE because data is not encrypted. For secure communication, HTTPS is used instead.

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Revise another OCR GCSE topic: Networks and topologies

Wired and wireless networks, protocols and layers

Note 7 of 13

  1. 1Wired - Ethernet; Wireless - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth;
  2. 2Encryption
  3. 3IP addressing and MAC addressing
  4. 4Standards
  5. 5Common protocols
  6. 6TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
  7. 7HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)
  8. 8HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure)
  9. 9FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
  10. 10POP (Post Office Protocol)
  11. 11IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)
  12. 12SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
  13. 13The concept of layers
Topic overview

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