SSL is usually supported in browsers by making an "https"
URL protocol handler available via the java.net.URL class. The
JDK/JRE do not have an https handler by default. In order to use
https URLs or create socket-level SSL connections in a standalone
application you will have to get access to a Java SSL package. There
are several available now on the market including ones from Phaos and
RSA Data Security. Sun provides a Java SSL implementation as part of
HotJava, Java Web Server, and JavaOS but there is currently no
standalone reference implementation of this available for download.
Jeff