Beginning January 2017, if your website asks for sensitive information and is not utilizing a HTTPS web encryption, your site and data fields will be flagged as “Not secure”. While this will not change your website’s ranking or how it operates, it may give pause to some of your clients/visitors and perhaps stop them from being more interactive or making that purchase. Some of these sensitive information fields include passwords, bank account information, social security numbers, credit card numbers, etc.
Hackers can more easily capture your data when the information at hand is being transmitted from your device to the website you’re interacting with through an HTTP site as opposed to an HTTPS site. That extra “S” means you’re accessing that particular website through an encrypted connection. There is also a padlock in the left side of your address bar notifying you whether or not you’re on a secure site.
But remember, just because you’re on an HTTPS site, does not necessarily mean you’re protected 100%! So always be cautious when entering sensitive data online. If you’re not sure how this affects your site or you’re not even aware if your site is secure and encrypted and don’t want to be stymied come January 2017, contact Optfinity today and we can provide you with a free assessment and give you advice on some next steps.
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