What protocol provides authentication and encryption for secure Internet exchanges, now largely replaced by TLS?

The correct answer is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL is a cryptographic protocol that provided a secure channel for data transmission over the Internet. It was designed to ensure three fundamental security principles: confidentiality, data integrity, and authentication. SSL enables the encryption of data during transmission, which protects sensitive information like credit card numbers and personal data from eavesdropping or tampering.

Although SSL is still widely recognized, it has largely been supplanted by Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is an updated and more secure version of SSL. However, in discussions about secure communication protocols, SSL is frequently mentioned as the predecessor that laid the groundwork for TLS. Understanding SSL is important for comprehending the evolution of secure Internet communications and the importance of encryption in protecting user data online.

The other options are not correct because they either do not provide secure communication or are not protocols designed for that purpose. For example, HTTP is the foundational protocol for the web but lacks built-in security features. TLS, while it enhances security, is not the answer sought in this context since the question specifies the protocol that has been largely replaced by TLS, which is SSL. Lastly, FTP is used for file transfer and does not provide authentication and encryption by default, making it unsuitable for