Gmail moves over to https
Google announced today that it would switch Gmail users from a default http to an encrypted https for all services associated with its online email service.
Although the company has allowed users to opt for the more secure https pathway since 2008, a recent investigation into the online safety associated with standard http showed it would be preferable if all Gmail users accessed the service more securely with an option to turn it off.
“In 2008, we rolled out the option to always use https — encrypting your mail as it travels between your web browser and our servers. Using https helps protect data from being snooped by third parties, such as in public wifi hotspots. We initially left the choice of using it up to you because there’s a downside: https can make your mail slower since encrypted data doesn’t travel across the web as quickly as unencrypted data,” said Gmail engineering director Sam Schillace via the official Google Blog today.
“Over the last few months, we’ve been researching the security/latency tradeoff and decided that turning https on for everyone was the right thing to do,” he continued.
Rolling out https
Schillace added that the company is currently in the process of converting all Gmail users to this standard and that nothing would change for users who had previously selected the https setting.
“We are currently rolling out default https for everyone, if you’ve previously set your own https preference from Gmail Settings, nothing will change for your account.”
“Gmail will still always encrypt the login page to protect your password. Google Apps users whose admins have not already defaulted their entire domains to https will have the same option,” Schillace continued.
Benefits of https
The http secure protocol differs from the http standard in that it uses port 443 by default as opposed to port 80. Unlike http it was also designed to withstand third party attacks which may allow hackers to gain access to passwords and sensitive information.
Gmail https – comments and views
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