SSL Certified

Non-HTTPS Sites Will Be Labeled “Not Secure” by Chrome

74% of people use the Google Chrome Browser

When you visit a website that is using SSL, otherwise known as HTTPS or TLS, you see a green message in your browser location bar that says “Secure”.

“Secure” in Chrome browser does not mean “Safe”. In this post I will explain why in terms that are easy to understand and tell you what to do about it. I’ve written this post to be easy to read. I’d like to encourage you to share it with friends and family to help them stay secure.

For our technical readers, here is a summary of what we discuss in this post:

  1. We show that SSL certificates are being issued by more than one certificate authority (CA) to phishing sites pretending to be Google, Microsoft, Apple and other well-known companies.
  2. A valid certificate causes Chrome to show a website as “Secure”.
  3. When a certificate is revoked once a CA realizes they should not have issued it, we show that Chrome still shows the site as “Secure”. The “revoked” status is only visible in Chrome developer tools.
  4. Malicious sites that have been issued valid SSL certificates take some time to appear on Chrome’s malicious site list. We show that the safe browsing list can not be relied on as a backup mechanism to protect users from malicious sites with valid SSL certificates.

    Google wants to kill the unencrypted internet, and will soon flag two thirds of the web as “unsafe.”

    This means if your website doesn’t have an SSL, it will display a ‘Not Secure’ in the URL bar.

    ssl certificate warning

    Why SSL Certificates are Critical?

    Here are some of the reasons to have SSL Certificates:

    1. Encrypts Sensitive Information

    The information you send on the Internet is passed from computer to computer to get to the destination server. Any computer in between you and the server can see your credit card numbers, usernames and passwords, and other sensitive information if it is not encrypted. When an SSL certificate is used, the information becomes unreadable to everyone except for the server you are sending the information to.

    2. Protects You From Cybercriminals

    They are clever!

    According to Cybersecurity Ventures, cybersecurity damages will cost the world over $6 trillion annually by 2021.

    It is impossible to escape the rising tide of cybercrime if your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate. They will identify weakness(es) in your network…mostly, when information is transmitted. Recently, the black eye masked people have been refining malicious strains that are specifically designed to capture data while moving between destinations. (Told you, these people are clever!)

    ssl certificate saves you from cyber criminals
    You surely can protect yourself from this mess by installing SSL certificates that offer a vital means of defending against transit-based hacks.

    3. Builds Trust & Brand Power

    With SSL certificates, your customers will see visuals like lock icon and green address bar that indicates well-trusted encryption is in use. Well, if I as a customer will see that on your website, I will be assured that my information is traveling safe.

    ssl certificate in browser

    Undoubtedly, this will add brand power and boost the credibility of the brand.

    Conclusion

    Before Google flags your website, secure it today with SSL