Introduction

Internet giant Google has for some time been ranking sites in its search engine based on whether they use HTTPS - if they don’t then the ranking is lower. And everyone knows that if you’re on page two of Google’s search engine it’s the best place to bury a body where it will never be found.

Now there’s another reason to change your site from HTTP to HTTPS. Google issued a warning to website publishers that HTTP sites using forms and login fields will be marked as "not secure" by the Chrome browser starting this October.

In January Google started marking HTTP sites that collect passwords or credit cards as not secure in Chrome v. 56. Then in April, it announced Chrome will also show the “not secure” warning when users enter data on an HTTP page and on all HTTP pages visited in Incognito mode.

Chrome version 62 will mark big changes

Any site asking users to submit information over an unencrypted HTTP connection in the next version of Chrome (v. 62) will be flagged as not secured.

“Our plan to label HTTP sites as non-secure is taking place in gradual steps, based on increasingly broad criteria. Since the change in Chrome 56, there has been a 23 percent reduction in the fraction of navigations to HTTP pages with password or credit card forms on desktop, and we’re ready to take the next steps," the Chrome team explained in their April announcement.

The current changes reflect those next steps. When users browse Chrome in Incognito mode, they have increased expectations of privacy. However, HTTP browsing is not private to others on the network, Google explained. And security demands are only going to get tougher:

“Eventually, we plan to show the 'Not secure' warning for all HTTP pages, even outside Incognito mode. We will publish updates as we approach future releases, but don’t wait to get started moving to HTTPS.”

Keep moving to stay ahead

Migration from HTTP to HTTPS has become more important than ever. Please check out this article for helpful information about how to make the transition.