Do you know how to fix the “Not Secure” Website in Google Chrome?

There can be many questions instilled in our minds when we shop online or use online platforms for our leisure or work. Questions like – Am’ I safe? Are my data and personal information like – contact number, email address and etc secured? If I have an E-commerce website, then is it safe from all the malicious attacks and hacks? Look, these questions have a clear answer from “Google – The Giant”, which states, that anyone who uses the internet for putting confidential information, needs to be secured by enabling HTTPS to Chrome, Mozilla and other major web browsers. To further add the information and to gain a better understanding on how the HTTPS is enabled, why it is important, and how one can fix the “Not Secure” tag in Google Chrome 56, keep reading the article – It will turn out to be a real insight for you!

What did Google announce for HTTP and HTTPS?

Google Chrome, is the search giant’s flagship browser, that has begun labeling all the dangerous websites from this year starting – January – 2017 as “Not Secure”. This change was quite evident for the websites that have unsecured web pages and has provisions to fill sensitive data, such as passwords and credit card numbers for online communications/transactions.

The users won’t be blocked immediately from accessing the Not Secure websites or the HTTP version of them, but they will be certainly alerted when any online transaction takes place that requires personal data. This will be a warning for the websites that are unsecured and unprotected. So what’s Google will do here? To solve this Google has released Chrome 56 that implies the website is ‘Not Secure’ for users.

This is an indication of a high-level of security to the normal web browsing, that is for non-HTTPS websites collecting sensitive information. This feature of Google Chrome 56 guarantees that the users/visitors are grabbing the right website they intend to visit, with superfluous security features and protection from hackers.

What is the difference with HTTP and HTTPS or “SECURE and Not Secure” websites?

If we talk in technical terms – they both are same but HTTPS is more secure. HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, and HTTPS stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure. This extra “s” is for the security that means your data and information shared is encrypted, with an additional layer of security.

When you look at the address bar of your site, do you notice how it appears, well, either you will see http:// or https:// followed by the URL. Here with the new security flagging from Google, your Chrome will show https://, nevertheless if it shows http:// then, it is time to switch to HTTPS, the more secure feature for your website. Have a quick look at some differences between the two –

HTTP –

• You don’t get data traffic security
• HTTP only sends or transfer data in a plain text form
• As they send less data, they load it faster
• Here with HTTP Google does not have any particular fondness in their pledge to make the websites secure

HTTPS –

• HTTPS uses SSL certificate to provide far better security to the website,
• All the information and data is transferred with 256-bit encryption
• It was past days when HTTPS was taking a bit loading time compare to HTTP but with the arrival of HTTP/2 and accelerated hardware and software, this limit is broken.

What shall be done to fix ‘Not Secure’ Warning in Chrome for Your website?

To enable HTTPS to your website, you need to buy and install SSL certificate accurately, which will help you get rid of “Not Secure” and Google Chrome will display “Secure” for your website.

SSL stands for “Secure Socket Layers” which are the foundation of standard security technology. SSL certificate contains both private and public encryption keys that help in ascertaining the encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link via SSL guarantee that every single data conceded between the web server and a browser remains confidential and untouched.

How does it work? – Once the link is established, the server encrypts the information so that only the final receiver or the visitor can view and decode it. To anyone who does not belong to it or just listens to it in a devious manner, for them, the data is only a twine of twaddle and make no sense at all. This process makes it complex for hackers to eavesdrop or infuse malware.

In order to achieve this, enabling HTTPS is the final solution. Thus, one shall not waste time and go ahead with enabling HTTPS to their websites. The process is not very easy as it involves some technical knowledge. Thus, it is advised to contact a professional and seek for their expertise for the same.

Please Note – The SSL certificate should be installed on the server properly for HTTPS to function effectively. Read how to set up WordPress to use HTTPs.

Final thoughts on fixing the website from Not Secure to secure (from http to https)

By Now, with the trail of the article it must be quite clear to you, that how important HTTPS is for the security of the websites and for all the confidential information used for online transactions. With the launch of Chrome 56 in January -2017, Google has made it indicative that no one will be spared with false and unsecured web pages. So, Enable HTTPS is becoming foreseeable in the long run, hence, Migrate your site from HTTP to HTTPS before it becomes a dire need. Eventually, Google Chrome 56 assures users/visitors who share susceptible information on your website.

Take the step, choose SSL certificate, follow the guidelines of Google, make the transition to HTTPS and turn your Chrome browser a trustworthy platform where your users’ information is secured.