do note that securing a server and https is two very different thing.
Https is a method to encrypt information in transit and in no way does it apply to securing a server! By default TCP port would 443 while unsecure would be 80. This SSL certificates can be created via linux using such tools as
openSSL If I am not mistaken its free.
Password protect, do you mean to restrict certain portion of your site and using a password as a form of authentication? If you so, you always use .htaccess to configure that kind of stuff.
Now, securing a server. I mean physically securing your server say you have your own dedi box. There alot of factors to take into consideration. Your OS, what level of security you want and such.
It could be as simple as blocking certain ports on your server to a more complex task such as to lock down PHP and use mod_security with apache or securing your TMP partitions.
Hmm don't seem to find a link for you right now on securing your server, will update this post once I do a yahoo later
