Google will label all unencrypted web pages as “not secure” in a forthcoming Google Chrome browser update.
Sites that don’t use the HTTPS protocol will come with a warning after Chrome 68 rolls out in July this year.
As part of its longstanding drive to push websites to embrace encrypted connections, Google is further distancing itself from HTTP sites.
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Whereas the padlock and the word “Secure” appears in the URL bar next to secured pages, the words “Not Secure” will appear next to unsecured portals.
Here’s how it’ll look in Chrome 68, compared to the current treatment of HTTP pages.
“Chrome’s new interface will help users understand that all HTTP sites are not secure, and continue to move the web toward a secure HTTPS web by default,” the company says in a statement.
For the last three years, Google has been giving search priority to HTTPS sites in a move it dubbed “carrot and stick”.
Given the firm’s market share sits above 50%, this could have far-reaching ramifications and may even be followed by Microsoft, Mozilla and Apple; the other major browser players.
Chrome 68 will also crack down on third-party apps that can cause crashes.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.