If you’ve ever set up a website or dealt with security certificates, you’ve probably seen both SSL and TLS mentioned. Many people use these terms interchangeably, but they’re not quite the same thing. Understanding the difference isn’t just technical trivia—it actually matters for your website’s security and how you communicate with clients or team members about your setup.
What SSL and TLS Actually Are
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, while TLS means Transport Layer Security. Both are cryptographic protocols designed to secure communication over a network. Think of them as the technology that creates that encrypted tunnel between your visitors’ browsers and your web server, keeping their data safe from prying eyes.
Here’s the thing though: SSL is actually the older technology. The last version, SSL 3.0, was released back in 1996. TLS came along as its successor, with TLS 1.0 launching in 1999 as an upgraded version of SSL 3.0. We’re now on TLS 1.3, which came out in 2018 and is significantly more secure and efficient than anything that came before it.
Why We Still Call Them SSL Certificates
This is where it gets a bit confusing for everyone. Even though we’ve been using TLS for over two decades, the industry still commonly refers to these security certificates as ”SSL certificates.” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had conversations with clients about their ”SSL certificate” when we’re actually implementing TLS 1.2 or 1.3.
The reason is simple: SSL was the first, and the name stuck. It’s like how people still say ”Xerox” for photocopies or ”Google it” for any web search. The terminology became so ingrained that changing it would cause more confusion than clarity. So when you see services advertising SSL certificates or SSL monitoring—including ours at SSLVigil—we’re actually talking about TLS in practice.
The Technical Differences That Matter
Beyond just being newer, TLS includes several important security improvements over SSL. The handshake process—how your browser and server agree on encryption methods—is more secure in TLS. The protocol also uses better encryption algorithms and has fixed various vulnerabilities that existed in SSL.
SSL 3.0 had a critical vulnerability called POODLE that was discovered in 2014. This flaw allowed attackers to decrypt secure connections. SSL 2.0 was even worse, with multiple serious security issues. These aren’t theoretical problems—they’ve been actively exploited in the wild.
Modern browsers don’t even support SSL anymore. If you try to connect to a website still running SSL 3.0 or earlier, you’ll get security warnings or outright connection failures. That’s actually a good thing for internet security overall.
A Real-World Example
Last year, I was helping a client migrate an older e-commerce site to a new server. They kept insisting everything was fine because they had ”SSL installed.” When I checked their actual configuration, they were running TLS 1.0 with some weak cipher suites. Their payment processor was about to cut them off because those protocols no longer met PCI DSS compliance requirements.
We upgraded them to TLS 1.2 as the minimum, with TLS 1.3 preferred, and disabled all the outdated ciphers. The whole process took maybe 30 minutes, but it saved them from losing their ability to process credit cards. That’s when it really hit me how much confusion the SSL/TLS naming situation causes in practice.
What Version Should You Be Using?
This is straightforward: you should be using TLS 1.2 as your minimum, with TLS 1.3 enabled if your server supports it. There’s really no legitimate reason to support anything older at this point. SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0, TLS 1.0, and even TLS 1.1 are all deprecated and considered unsafe.
Most modern web servers and browsers default to TLS 1.2 and 1.3 now, which is great. But if you’re running older infrastructure or haven’t updated your configuration in a while, it’s worth checking. Security scanners and monitoring tools will flag outdated protocols pretty quickly.
Common Misconceptions
Misconception: SSL and TLS are completely different technologies that serve different purposes.
Reality: TLS is the direct successor to SSL. They do the same job, but TLS does it better and more securely.
Misconception: If my certificate says SSL, I’m not using TLS.
Reality: The certificate itself is protocol-agnostic. What matters is which protocol version your server is configured to use during the actual connection.
Misconception: I need to buy a special ”TLS certificate” instead of an ”SSL certificate.”
Reality: They’re the same thing. Certificate providers use the term SSL for branding, but the certificates work with TLS protocols.
Why This Matters for Your Website
Security isn’t just about ticking a compliance box. Using modern TLS versions means better encryption, faster connections (TLS 1.3 is notably faster), and protection against known vulnerabilities. Your visitors’ data stays secure, you meet industry standards, and you avoid the performance penalties of older protocols.
From a monitoring perspective, keeping track of which protocols your certificates support is crucial. When a vulnerability is discovered or a protocol is deprecated, you need to know immediately so you can update your configuration. That’s why proper SSL/TLS monitoring watches not just certificate expiration, but also the underlying protocol configuration.
The Bottom Line
So yes, there is a difference between SSL and TLS—TLS is the modern, secure version of what SSL started. But in everyday conversation, when someone says ”SSL certificate” or ”SSL monitoring,” they almost certainly mean TLS. The important thing isn’t obsessing over the terminology, but making sure your actual implementation uses current, secure protocols. Check your server configuration, verify you’re running at least TLS 1.2, and keep your certificates valid and properly monitored. That’s what actually keeps your site secure.