News

Google enables SSL search for all users

Online users have faced a growing number of threats in recent months, and while it is not feasible to protect against every threat, thinking in terms of "secure by default" has become the go-to strategy for guarding sensitive data. Google recently announced a security update for its Chrome browser that would enable SSL encrypted searches for users who are not logged into the company's services.

Adam Langley, software engineer at Google, discussed the change in a Chromium blog post. Currently, users who are signed in to Google are protected by SSL encryption when they search for a word or phrase in the browser's address bar. However, all users will be protected once Chrome 25 launches.

"Serving content over SSL provides users with a more secure and private search experience," wrote Langley. "It helps ensure that malicious actors who might intercept people's internet traffic can't see their queries. Many major sites have begun serving content over SSL by default, such as Gmail in early 2010, Twitter in February 2012 and Facebook in November 2012."

Google's security upgrade mirrors that of a 2012 announcement from Mozilla, when it enabled HTTPS searches using the Firefox address bar. According to a Mozilla blog post, enabling SSL was designed to better protect user privacy. By encrypting search information, users can prevent referrer string data from being transmitted to the sites they visit. The company highlighted the value of giving users more control of the information they share online as well as providing more options to protect it.

Guard your customers' data by getting your SSL certificate today.

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