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HTTPS by default

security.googleblog.com

131–140 of 268 posts

Re: HTTPS by default

#131
post #115

> What's worse, many plaintext HTTP connections today are entirely invisible to users, as HTTP sites may immediately redirect to HTTPS sites. That gives users no opportunity to see Chrome's "Not Secure" URL bar warnings after the risk has occurred, and no opportunity to keep themselves safe in the first place. What is the risk exactly? A man-in-the-middle redirect to a malicious https site?

A MITM could replace the redirect with malicious content, as described in the blog.

Re: HTTPS by default

#132
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I run my blog in unencrypted HTTP/1.1 just to make a point that we do not have to depend on third parties to publish content online. And I noticed that Whatsapp is even worse than Chrome, it opens HTTPS even if I share HTTP links.

Depend on one less third party, you still depend on the DNS Root servers, your ISP / hosting, domain registry, etc.

If you think about it the spirit of the internet is based on collaboration with other parties. If you want no third parties, there's always file: and localhost.

Re: HTTPS by default

#133

I distinctly remember trying to sign up for Pandora’s premium plan back in 2012 and their credit card form being served and processed over HTTP. I emailed them telling them that I wanted to give them my money if they would just fix the form. They never got back to me or fix it for several more years while I gave my money to Spotify. Back then HTTPS was NOT the norm and it was a battle to switch people to it. Yes it i…

I remember even back in the early 2000s https for credit card forms was pretty common. Surprised a company like Pandora wasn't with it by thr 2010s.

There is likely zero chance the OP's recollection is remotely correct. Pandora went public in 2011 with 80 million users, the chances of a publicly listed company of this size taking payments over HTTP in 2012 are about as close to zero as can be. If nothing else, their payment processor would drop them as a customer.

Re: HTTPS by default

#134
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depend on one less third party, you still depend on the DNS Root servers, your ISP / hosting, domain registry, etc.

CAs are uniquely assertive about their right to cut off your access. My hosting provider may accidentally fuck up, but they'll apologise and fix it. My CA fucks up, they e-mail me at 7pm telling me I've got to fix their fuck-up for them by jumping through a bunch of hoops they have erected, and they'll only give me 16 hours to do it. Of course, you might argue my hosting provider has a much higher chance of fucking u…

So what does "CA fixes the problem" look like in your head? Because they'll give you a new certificate right away. You have to install it, but you can automate that, and it's hard to imagine any way they could help that would be better than automation. What else do you want them to do? Asking them to not revoke incorrect or compromised certificates isn't good for maintaining security.

Re: HTTPS by default

#135

Prediction: Wifi captive portal vendors will not react to this until after 90% of their customerbase has their funding dry up. It is incredibly common for public wifi captive portals to be built on a stack of hacks, some of which require the inspection of HTTP and DNS requests to function. *Yes better tools exist, but they dont arent commonly used, and require Portal, WAP and Client support. Most vendors just tell pe…

To be fair, most people connecting to captive portal networks are more likely to be doing so on their phones, and I don't think IOS even allows non-Safari browsers for captive Wi-Fi login. I'm unsure how they'll fix this for Android though.

Apple does however you have to go out of your way to do it. Every time.

Re: HTTPS by default

#136
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I run my blog in unencrypted HTTP/1.1 just to make a point that we do not have to depend on third parties to publish content online. And I noticed that Whatsapp is even worse than Chrome, it opens HTTPS even if I share HTTP links.

There are dozens of us I guess that care about this kind of thing. I have never really understood the obsession with https for static content that I don't care if anyone can see I am reading like a blog post. HTTPS should be for things that matter, everything else can, and think should use HTTP when it is not necessary. Depending on yet another third party to provide what is IMHO a luxury should not be required, and…

>There are dozens of us I guess...

Shine on you crazy diamond, and all that, but...

> I have been continually confused as to why it is being forced down everyone's throat.

Have you never sat on public wifi and tried to open an http site? These days it is highly likely to be MITM'd by the wifi provider to inject ads (or worse). Even residential ISPs that one pays for cannot be trusted not to inject content, if given the opportunity, because they noticed that they are monopolies and most users cannot do anything about it.

You don't get to choose the threat model of those who visit your site.

Re: HTTPS by default

#137
post #33
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depend on one less third party, you still depend on the DNS Root servers, your ISP / hosting, domain registry, etc.

Host an onion website at home using solar energy, and the only third party your website will depend on is your internet provider :)

What about all the third parties running relays and exit nodes?

Re: HTTPS by default

#138
We need to replace the DNS system with a blockchain-based alternative where people can own domains on-chain without renewal fees. The public key used to encrypt data would be shown alongside the IP addresses registered for that domain name (same record). The owner of the domain (an NFT) would be able to change their public encryption key at will on-chain. They would only pay a fee when they want to perform some write action; holding the domain and lookups would be free forever. No need to separate DNS from the certification and encryption layer. You know the private key, you own the domain. So much cleaner than the mess we have now.

If someone doesn't like it, they can stay behind on the old DNS system or they can launch a new blockchain with their own version of reality... It's retarded that we need to have one version of reality for the entire planet. If someone in China wants to own facebook.com, they should be allowed. Heck, it could be a separate silo per city. The age of copyright and trademark is over. I don't see AI companies distributing royalties to people who wrote its training set...

Re: HTTPS by default

#140
post #91

Mmmm, great that and mandatory key rotation every 90 days, plus needing to get a cert from an approved CA, means just that more busy work to have an independent web presence. I don't like people externalizing their security policy preferences. Yes this might be more secure for a class of use-cases, but I as a user should be allowed to decide my threat model. It's not like these initiatives really solve the risks pose…

HTTPS doesn't have mandatory key rotation every 90 days. LetsEncrypt does for reasons that they document, but you can go elsewhere if you'd prefer.

> I as a user should be allowed to decide my threat model

Asking you if you want to proceed is allowing you to decide your threat model.

> We have so much compliance theater around email, and we still have exactly the same threats and issues as existed twenty years ago.

...and yet we have largely eliminated entire classes of issue on the web with the shift to HTTPS, to the point where asking users to opt-in to HTTP traffic is actually a practical option, raising the default security posture with minimal downside.

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