What is Safe Browsing??

Chrome will Display Security Warnings on HTTP Sites from October 17, 2017. Google has been planning to label http:// websites as non-secure from January 2017 & this is ultimately happening with roll out of Chrome version 62 in October. Google is forcing websites to make website browsing safe for the users, even if websites are not accepting credit card payments and other secure functions on the website. Any data users type, including their name, phone number, email address, etc. needs to be secure and to be protected from being hijacked. This can be ensured by the use of encryption provided by SSL certificate & https://.

HTTP vs. HTTPS

Websites that have the SSL certificate installed are displayed with Green Secure Lock & https://. HTTP website on the other hand are displayed with “i” and http://

For more information on difference between HTTP and HTTPS, refer to our previous post?HTTP Vs HTTPS: Should you make the switch?

Google Search Console Warning

If you have Google Search Console for your website, Google has started rolling out warnings, if your website is http:// and not https://. Login to your Search Console to review. Warning will look like this:

Non-Secure Warnings on the Browser

Google has no plans to block your site from being displayed in the chrome browser. However, if Google has flagged your site as “non-secure” on the search console, chrome will display the following security warnings on http sites to the user, before they continue to your site:

As the user starts filling out a form, this is how warning is displayed to the user:

How to Avoid these Warning Messages?

1. Login to Google Search Console and review the warning
2. If you have a warning that your site is non-secure, contact your hosting provider to secure a SSL certificate
3. Once SSL certificate is purchased, you need to activate it.
4. If you need help activating the SSL certificate, seek help from the hosting provider or call you web master
5. Ultimately, Green Secure Lock with https:// before your domain name will ensure that your site is safe for browsing
6. Rebuild your sitemap & submit to Google with https:// links

If you have any questions on this topic or need help with SSL installation, feel free to contact us.

About the Author

Kalpana Murthy, President/CEO at WSI Plano, DBA Kriti Web Solutions, LLC. is a Digital Strategist, Consultant, Speaker/Trainer, & Software Engineer who is passionate about bringing affordable technology solutions to businesses to build online presence. Kalpana Murthy is a certified partner with Google, HubSpot, Sharp Spring, SEMRush and other digital solution providers.