In securing browser traffic, which method provides confidentiality by encrypting the channel between client and server?

• A. HTTPS/TLS encryption
• B. Tor
• C. SSH
• D. IPsec VPN

Answer: (A)

HTTPS with TLS provides confidentiality by creating an encrypted channel directly between the browser and the web server. When you connect to an https site, the TLS handshake establishes keys that both ends use for the session, and all HTTP data sent over that connection is encrypted with those keys. This means anyone monitoring the network can’t read the requests or responses, and the server is authenticated so you’re communicating with the real site and not an impostor. The result is end-to-end secrecy for the browser traffic to that server.

Tor focuses on anonymity by routing traffic through multiple relays and can add encryption between hops, but it isn’t designed to guarantee the end-to-end confidentiality of the browser-to-server channel in the same way as HTTPS does. SSH is for secure remote access and isn’t used to secure general web browsing. IPsec VPN encrypts traffic over a VPN tunnel, which protects data while it travels through the tunnel, but the explicit browser-to-server channel security you see when loading a website is provided by HTTPS/TLS.