WWW
Port 80 is the default port for HTTP, the protocol used by the World Wide Web (WWW). It allows web browsers to communicate with web servers, enabling users to access and view websites. HTTP is a foundational technology for the internet, facilitating the transfer of web pages and other resources.
What is WWW
Port 80 is the default port for the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is the protocol used by the World Wide Web (WWW) to transfer web pages and other resources. When you type a URL into your web browser, it sends an HTTP request to the server hosting the website, typically over port 80. The server then responds with the requested web page, which the browser renders for you to view.
HTTP was developed by Tim Berners-Lee and his team at CERN in the early 1990s. It has since become one of the most widely used protocols on the internet, forming the backbone of web communication. HTTP is a stateless protocol, meaning each request from a client to a server is treated as an independent transaction that is unrelated to any previous request.
While HTTP over port 80 is still widely used, it has largely been supplanted by HTTPS, which uses port 443 and provides encrypted communication for enhanced security. Despite this, port 80 remains essential for web traffic, especially for initial HTTP requests that are often redirected to HTTPS.
WWW runs on TCP and UDP port 80 and is official IANA port.Security risk
If port 80 is open and the service is running, it can be a target for various attacks such as HTTP floods, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting (XSS). Unsecured HTTP traffic can also be intercepted, leading to data breaches. It is recommended to use HTTPS to mitigate these risks.
In our UFW tutorial you can follow instructions how you can configure UFW to close port 80. Use StackChanges to monitor if the WWW port is closed and stays closed. StackChanges will send an alert if port 80 is open again.