GOOGLE changed the ‘lock symbol’ that users had long thought meant a web site was secure.
In its latest Chrome update, Google has made the icon redundant.
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Lock symbols are used to indicate that websites use HTTPS encryption for connections. This makes them impenetrable by hackers.
The symbol is no longer needed for websites, as more than 99 percent of web pages in Google Chrome are encrypted using HTTPS.
Included are websites which disguise phishing attempts.
Google said that it was inherited at a time where HTTPS (secure HTTP) was “rare”.
Back in the day, many ‘dodgy websites’ designed for phishing did not have HTTPS encryption.
Chrome has changed with the times.
“This misunderstanding is not harmless — nearly all phishing sites use HTTPS, and therefore also display the lock icon,” Google explains.
“Misunderstandings are so pervasive that many organisations, including the FBI, publish explicit guidance that the lock icon is not an indicator of website safety.”
Although the lock won’t appear on the address, it will still be present.
Google has tucked it into the submenu ‘tune,’ to demonstrate that website connections are safe.
Two years ago, the tech giant said that secure website indicators were no longer needed.
Google, on the other hand, has intensified its efforts in blocking sites that contain malware and warning users when they are loading into a site with something potentially nefarious lurking.
Google says that Chrome has been updated to reflect HTTPS.
As part of a redesign for desktop platforms, the new icon should be available in Chrome 117 which will release in early September, 2023.
Google Chrome on Android will replace the lock icon as well in September. It will however be completely removed from iOS devices, such as iPhones.
Chrome 113 (also known as Google Chrome 113) is likely to have been installed on your computer or laptop overnight.
If it did not, then follow these simple steps.
- Google Chrome will open in your web browser.
- Click on the three dots at the upper right corner of the screen.
- Tap Help > About Google Chrome
- It will take a while to update.
- Chrome can be upgraded by clicking Relaunch.
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