secret handshake
1
8.0
- noun
- /ˈsiːkrɪt ˈhændʃeɪk/
- Specialized
:
intercambio seguro
- The developers used a secret handshake to secure the connection between their servers.
Examples
-
The entity finally completed the elaborate secret handshake required to establish a connection across the local area network into a nearby workstation.
Fiction book (2002) -
To join the online community, you must create a secret handshake that validates your identity.
-
After the update, the app required a new secret handshake to authenticate users before allowing access.
Synonyms
3
6.7
A first exchange between two computers to agree how to make a secure connection
Two devices exchange signals to agree how to connect before sending data
How Secure
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination of 'secret' (hidden) and 'handshake' (a greeting or identifying gesture) allows a learner to infer a concealed or special greeting used to verify identity. However, the technical computing sense (a protocol exchange for authentication) is a metaphorical domain-specific extension not fully predictable from the parts, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Secret handshake in computing borrows the human image: two computers perform a private handshake by sending a short series of messages to check who they are and agree on a secret code. So the term means 'a private exchange that makes a secure connection'.