If you use the Google Chrome browser, you’re going to notice that a heck of a lot more sites will be flagged as non-secure. Starting in July, with the update to Chrome 68, any site that doesn’t have https encryption will be marked as non-secure. A box will display beside the address for the site that reads Not secure. HTTPS stands for  Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure. It means that the data transferred between your PC and the website is encrypted.

chrome-68-not-secure.jpg

Currently, you’ll see a little i next to the address.

chrome-with-i.jpg

Click that i and a pop-up will explain the site is not secure.

chrome-with-not-secure.jpg

How unsafe are sites like this? If you’re just viewing them, it doesn’t mean there’s a problem with the site. But if a site is not encrypted and you share information with the site like a credit card number or a password, it is possible that someone might intercept it. Sometimes sites aren’t encrypted on front pages, but if you need to go to a place where private information is required, that page will be encrypted.

The reasons why some sites don’t show up with https is that it can cost money to secure a site or even require completely rebuilding an older site.

Google is making this move in an attempt to force the hands of sites that haven’t switched to https.  According to a statement on Google’s security blog,

“Chrome’s new interface will help users understand that all HTTP sites are not secure, and continue to move the web towards a secure HTTPS web by default. HTTPS is easier and cheaper than ever before, and it unlocks both performance improvements and powerful new features that are too sensitive for HTTP.”
This is similar to the efforts Google made to hurry along the demise of Flash Player.