Google Chrome will actively direct you away from insecure websites
HTTPS-Only Mode is coming to Chrome
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Googleis currently working on a new feature forChromethat will automatically direct users away from insecure sites still using HTTP in favor of sites that utilize HTTPS instead.
The search giant has long been a proponent of using HTTPS and all the way back in 2018, it beganmarking all HTTP sites as ‘not secure’in itsbrowser. Beginning with the release of Chrome 86 last year, Google also began warning users aboutinsecure forms on HTTPS sitesto prevent users from entering sensitive information such as their banking details.
Now though, the company is planning to add an “HTTPS-Only Mode” in an upcoming version of Chrome according to anew poston the Chromium Gerrit site.
HTTPS-Only Mode
Once this feature is available in Chrome, a new toggle to “Always use secure connections” will be added to the browser’s security settings under the “Advanced” heading. If this toggle is switched to on, Google will “upgrade all navigations to HTTPS and warn you before loading sites that don’t support it”.
While this toggle will be disabled by default, Chrome alreadydefaults to using HTTPSif you don’t type out http:// or https:// when entering a website’s URL in the browser’s address bar. However, if a HTTPS version of a site isn’t available, Chrome will show a warning page before reverting back to HTTP.
Any sites that users allow to bypass HTTP-Only Mode will be saved by Google so Chrome won’t ask you again the next time you visit them.
As HTTPS-Only Mode is still in development, it likely won’t arrive until the release of either Chrome version 93 or 94 with the former scheduled to release in August and the latter slated to arrive in September.
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After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.
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