14 DAY TRIAL // Google has just released Chrome 68 for all supported platforms, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. As a major update, version 68 introduces several important changes and changes the way users are notified when loading HTTP websites.
Starting with this version, Google Chrome begins listing all HTTP sites as Not Secure using a small flag placed in the address bar. This is a critical change that encourages web developers to make the switch to HTTPS, a transition that Google itself has pushed for starting earlier this year.
Previously, Google Chrome flagged as not secure only HTTP websites that required critical user information, like passwords and credit card details, while a later update expanded this warning to all types of data that users were asked to provide.
Enter Chrome 68
Beginning with Chrome 68, Google marks as not secure absolutely all HTTP pages, regardless of whether they are loaded in the standard view or in incognito mode.
“Chrome’s new interface will help users understand that all HTTP sites are not secure, and continue to move the web towards a secure HTTPS web by default. HTTPS is easier and cheaper than ever before, and it unlocks both performance improvements and powerful new features that are too sensitive for HTTP,” Google said back in February when it announced these changes.
This change, however, is only part of a broader plan that Google sees as a method to make the web more secure. The next major release of the Chrome browser, version 69, is projected to also pull the HTTPS indicator, which means that when users load websites that have already embraced the secure protocol, they wouldn’t see any kind of label.
In other words, only warnings of HTTP pages would be displayed, so users would see fewer interruptions when browsing the web.
As with every release, you can download Google Chrome for Windows, Linux, and macOS using these links. The Android version of Google Chrome will also get an update shortly and the APK will be listed here.