Google has finally set a deadline for website owners to get all of their site’s pages secured with SSL. With the upcoming release of Chrome 68, Google will begin displaying clear warnings to users when web pages are not secured by SSL. The label will clearly be displayed as”Not Secure”, and we will also see those sites penalized on Google search or removed altogether.
If you haven’t heard about this already, here’s what you need to know. Google, Firefox, Safari and a lot of other manufacturers of web browsers have been implementing features to clearly show insecure sites for a long time. Last year Alphabet (owner of Google) and Mozilla (owner of Firefox) changed the visuals and UI in their browsers to show the level of encryption a page is using. As well as showing the classic padlock icon in the URL, the browsers began showing the label “Secure” or “Not Secure”. The companies that own the web browsers were hoping that these changes would gradually see website owners adopt safer practices on their sites and have them fully secured by SSL.
Why Are HTTPS & SSL Important?
Compared to modern standards HTTP is prehistoric. HTTP is a protocol used for establishing communication between two devices but unfortunately, it has had its time in the sun. To put it bluntly, HTTP is not secure. When your computer, mobile or device connects to something using HTTP it is not secure, meaning that anyone could eavesdrop on your connection. People who have the knowledge to do so can hijack this connection to steal valuable and important information, manipulate data and access passwords.
Now…
HTTPS is secure. When your device, computer or mobile connects using HTTPS, the data that is being sent is encrypted making it worthless to anyone without the other half of the encryption key. In addition to encryption, when you make an HTTPS connection it blocks ISP’s and other third parties from injecting ads onto your website. It’s also a faster and more stable connection than the outdated HTTP.
What Should I Do To Protect My Site?
First, if you haven’t already done so, make the change to HTTPS across your entire website. If your site is labeled as insecure, you will turn away new and existing customers, lose out on the number of potential visitors and drop in search engine ranking. You can avoid that. The team here at Jsweb are here to help as always and would be happy to review your website and migrate you to HTTPS. There are many benefits to going to HTTPS early, and the sooner you make the change the sooner you doge Google’s impending wrath! And Trust us, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of Google!