Google has announced that from July 2018 its popular Chrome web browser will mark all HTTP sites as ‘not secure’ and prominently highlight this in its URL bar.
Currently, Chrome displays HTTP connections with a neutral ‘information’ indicator in the address bar. However, Google already started marking all HTTP sites that had data entry fields as insecure and even back in 2016, it already started showing the same warning for all sites that asked for passwords and credit cards.
Google is on a long-term drive to ensure the Internet is a safer place and that all web connections are encrypted via an SSL. The changes are intended to prompt site owners to complete the switch to HTTPS, which encrypts data in transit to prevent access by attackers. At the moment, 81 of the top 100 sites now default to HTTPS.
In a recent blog post, Chrome security product manager Emily Schechter wrote, “Based on the awesome rate that sites have been migrating to HTTPS and the strong trajectory through this year, we think that in July the balance will be tipped enough so that we can mark all HTTP sites.”
While there’s still some time before the update gets applied, it’s incredibly crucial you take the necessary steps to ensure your brand remains trustworthy and professional. Making your website HTTPS compliant is relatively affordable and World Class Creatives can assist you in the transition.
Picture: Example treatment of the browse URL warning will appear.