Google marks sites without SSL Certificates as ‘Not Secure’

Google warns that sites without SSL Certificates will trigger ‘Not Secure’ messages on latest Chrome release.

Google sent out emails last month to the owners of websites that don’t use SSL Certificates but which contain data input fields. These emails warned that Chrome users who accessed their site with the latest release of the popular browser, would see these sites marked as ‘Not Secure’. Version 62 of Chrome took over as the stable channel in late-October.

Previously, Chrome would only flag-up unsecure websites if they contained password or card payment fields, but the latest stable release of Chrome expands their warning system. Now, every non-HTTPS site with a text-input field (a Contact Us form, for example) will be marked with the distinctive red triangle in the address bar. Warnings will also be visible to users in Incognito Mode, which unfortunately continues to trick some users into believing a site is more secure than it actually is.

For the observant among us, this isn’t a surprising development. Google’s intentions were signaled in this April 2017 blog entry from Emily Schechter, of the Chrome Security Team.

Chrome now marks HTTP pages as “Not secure” if they have password or credit card fields. Beginning in October 2017, Chrome will show the “Not secure” warning in two additional situations: when users enter data on an HTTP page, and on all HTTP pages visited in Incognito mode.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) uses encryption and certification to assure visitors that a website is actually owned and operated by the trademark holder.

-If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to set-up SSL on your websites. I also recommend that you invest in a wildcard certificate, which can be used on your main pages and across all sub-domains, rather than buying a single certificate. The most important thing is that you secure the domains that are most likely to be found through a Google search. A common mistake is to set-up SSL for sub-domains but to forget to apply it to landing pages, says Peter Leidehorn, Key Account Manager at Dotkeeper.

If you want to know more about SSL and how it relates to domain management, click here  or call Peter direct on 0768 760 706 so that he can tell you more.