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Question on whether a site is secure or not

  • 3 replies
  • 3 have this problem
  • 17 views
  • Last reply by SafeBrowser

Randy1212
Randy1212
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Hi -

I had a question on whether or not a site is secure.

With Internet Explorer it will say https:// and there will also be a locked padlock.

With Firefox, it says https://, but I do not see a padlock anywhere.

Just wanted to be sure that this still means a secure site, even without the padlock.

Is there anything else that I should check for, or am I OK as long as there is the letter 's' after 'http'? - even if there is no padlock?

Thank you, Randy

Hi - I had a question on whether or not a site is secure. With Internet Explorer it will say https:// and there will also be a locked padlock. With Firefox, it says https://, but I do not see a padlock anywhere. Just wanted to be sure that this still means a secure site, even without the padlock. Is there anything else that I should check for, or am I OK as long as there is the letter 's' after 'http'? - even if there is no padlock? Thank you, Randy

Chosen solution

Padlock
The Padlock is no longer part of Firefox; it was removed beginning in Firefox 4. The padlock shows that there is a secure connection but does not supply additional information. You could have made a typographical error and still have been connected to a secure connection. The padlock was replaced in Firefox 3 with the Site Identity Button. Familiarize yourself with the Site Identity Button at the left end of the Location Bar:

You can install this add-on if you wish:

http:// and https://
The protocol (http://) has been removed from the URL in the location bar for http:// pages only in Firefox 7 and newer versions. Secure pages will still show the https:// protocol. This may be confusing to some users. There's also a known bug where if you copy the URL after selecting it from the awesome bar dropdown (but before loading the page) it won't include the http:// part.

Users can revert to the old behavior (showing http://) by setting browser.urlbar.trimURLs to false in about:config

  1. type about:config in the Location/URL/Address bar and press the Enter key
  2. if you see a warning, accept it (promise to be careful)
  3. Search = browser.urlbar.trimURLs
  4. double-click on the pref in the lower panel to toggle it to "false" OR right-click on the pref in the lower panel and choose "Toggle" to toggle it to "false"
  5. close the about:config tab


If this reply solves your problem, please click "Solved It" next to this reply when signed-in to the forum.


Not related to your question, but...

You may need to update some plug-ins. Check your plug-ins and update as necessary:

Read this answer in context 👍 4

All Replies (3)

SafeBrowser
SafeBrowser
more options

Chosen Solution

Padlock
The Padlock is no longer part of Firefox; it was removed beginning in Firefox 4. The padlock shows that there is a secure connection but does not supply additional information. You could have made a typographical error and still have been connected to a secure connection. The padlock was replaced in Firefox 3 with the Site Identity Button. Familiarize yourself with the Site Identity Button at the left end of the Location Bar:

You can install this add-on if you wish:

http:// and https://
The protocol (http://) has been removed from the URL in the location bar for http:// pages only in Firefox 7 and newer versions. Secure pages will still show the https:// protocol. This may be confusing to some users. There's also a known bug where if you copy the URL after selecting it from the awesome bar dropdown (but before loading the page) it won't include the http:// part.

Users can revert to the old behavior (showing http://) by setting browser.urlbar.trimURLs to false in about:config

  1. type about:config in the Location/URL/Address bar and press the Enter key
  2. if you see a warning, accept it (promise to be careful)
  3. Search = browser.urlbar.trimURLs
  4. double-click on the pref in the lower panel to toggle it to "false" OR right-click on the pref in the lower panel and choose "Toggle" to toggle it to "false"
  5. close the about:config tab


If this reply solves your problem, please click "Solved It" next to this reply when signed-in to the forum.


Not related to your question, but...

You may need to update some plug-ins. Check your plug-ins and update as necessary:

Modified by SafeBrowser

Randy1212
Randy1212 Question owner
more options

SafeBrowser - Thanks for your reply -

Randy

SafeBrowser
SafeBrowser
more options

Randy1212:

To help other users find solutions, please return and sign-in to the forum with your user name and password:

  • click on "Solved It" next to the reply ABOVE that BEST solved your question
  • DO NOT click "Solved It" next to this reply

Thanks