The Importance of HTTPS

Security is important, especially online. Have you ever noticed the green lock icon in the upper left of your browser, next to the URL? That icon means you are reading this on a secure HTTPS connection. Intruders can and will exploit every unprotected resource between your website and users.

Without HTTPS your site is unsecured, and it could be effortless for an intruder to misuse your website and even steal protected data. In this day and age, every website you visit should be secure, and much of the modern web will not work on a regular HTTP connection. Google offers an excellent technical overview about HTTPS.

HTTPS protects the privacy and security of users

A common misconception of today is that only websites that serve and transfer personal data like medical records and banking info are important enough to protect. This is patently not true - HTTPS prevents intruders from passively listening to communications between your website and your users.

Over a long enough time some intruders look at aggregate browsing histories of your users to de-anonymize their identities. Have you ever wondered why it 's hard to talk to a doctor online and receive medical advice? The issue is security and no matter how secure the doctor's website if they serve unprotected information by accident, your private medical information can be intercepted.

HTTPS prevents intruders from passively listening to communications and protects the anonymity of your users by encrypting your communications in such away that only your users and your website know what the contents of the requests and communications are.

HTTPS protects your website

The most typical attack on a website is simply a redirect request. If the connection between your users and your website is not secure, there is a chance that an intruder can infect your DNS and redirect you to a different website that might be a clone of your site to steal users information.

HTTPS prevents intruders from tampering with the communications between your site and their browser. Not all such intruders are malicious, but even the legitimate ones should be blocked. Intrusive companies like hotels can inject ads into your pages - distracting your users and potentially siphoning off your revenue. Not only does this break the user experience but it also creates security vulnerabilities.

The internet is complicated - all unprotected resources that travel between your website and your users can be exploited. HTML, scripts, cookies, even images can be used and exploited by intruders.
HTTPS prevents redirects or ad injections and even prevents the server that hosts your website from redirecting traffic in a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack that can swamp your site with fake traffic requests that prevent legitimate traffic from reaching your site.

HTTPS is particularly important when you use a public Wi-Fi hotspot as visiting an HTTP site over a public connection is not a good idea. Anyone so inclined can intercept your data packets and decode them. The secure socket layer (SSL) connection established between users and the server that serves your website has to be created before any data is exchanged.

HTTPS is the future of the internet

The modern functionality of the web requires a secure connection and excellent new web platform features, like enabling offline app experiences requires explicit permission from the user before executing. Older APIs are being updated to require permission to run, so an app does not broadcast your GPS location without your explicit permission.

Make sure your website is secure, protect your users and your website by enabling HTTPS. We at PC TEC RESCUERS keep you safe by always using a HTTPS connection. If you would like help enabling HTTPS on your site, we can help. Our friendly techs are available to be reached 24/7 to assist you with any computer, phone, or website related issues!