What does the 'https' in a web address indicate?

Concept:

HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is HTTP layered over TLS/SSL, a cryptographic protocol that encrypts the data exchanged between a browser and a web server and also lets the browser verify the server's identity via a digital certificate. The 's' appended to http specifically signals that this encryption-and-authentication layer is active for the connection.

Application:

In this question, the address uses https, so the channel between the browser and the site is encrypted: any data exchanged over it, such as passwords, form submissions, or cookies, cannot be read or altered by someone intercepting the traffic. That is exactly what the option describing the website as secure using encryption is stating.

Contrasting with the other options, by what each one actually claims:

• “The website is hosted on a local server” — https says nothing about where a site is hosted; hosting location (local or remote) is unrelated to which transport protocol the address uses.

• “The website is a search engine” — https is a transport-security protocol, not a category of website; a search engine, a bank, or a blog can all be served over either http or https.

• “The website uses standard HTTP protocol” — this describes plain, unencrypted HTTP, which is the opposite of what the added 's' means; a site using only standard HTTP would show as http:// in its address, without the 's'.

Cross-check: modern browsers mark a connection as “Not Secure” when it falls back to plain HTTP or presents an invalid certificate, and show a padlock only when the TLS/SSL-encrypted HTTPS channel is properly established — confirming that https specifically maps to encrypted, authenticated communication.

Result: the 's' in https indicates that the connection is secured using TLS/SSL encryption — the website is secure using encryption.