S3Express FAQ and Knowledge Base

During file listings, file uploads and file queries, files are transferred between the computer where S3Express is running and the Amazon S3 servers, so it's very important that the communication channel between the two is secure.

To achieve this level of security, S3Express automatically uses the HTTPs protocol (HTTPs = Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) to connect and communicate to the Amazon S3 servers. No special settings are needed: it is used by default.

The HTTPs protocol encrypts all the data flow between the client (the computer where S3Express is running) and the server (the Amazon S3 servers). This is the same protocol that is generally used to communicate to a bank site when using a web browser.

The HTTPs protocol protects against eavesdropping and tampering with and/or forging the contents of the communication. It provides a guarantee that one is communicating with precisely the Amazon S3 servers as well as ensuring that the contents of the communications between S3Express and the Amazon S3 servers (file transfers, file listings, etc.) cannot be read or forged by any third party.

HTTP can optionally be used instead of the default HTTPs. You can enable HTTP instead of HTTPs with the setopt command.