Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cybersecurity

    Twitter Enables HTTPS for All Users

    By
    Fahmida Y. Rashid
    -
    February 14, 2012
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Twitter has enabled HTTPS for all its users, which now means that traffic on the social networking site is encrypted and there is more protection against potential man-in-the-middle attacks.

      Less than a year after Twitter introduced the privacy-friendly option on its settings page, the microblogging site has turned on HTTPS by default for all users, the company said Feb. 13. Users still have the option to turn off HTTPS through the Account Settings page.

      Users who connect to unsecured WiFi networks, such as public hotspots in a coffee shop or a hotel lobby, run the risk of having their Web information intercepted by malicious attackers. If the Website the user is accessing doesn’t encrypt the connection with HTTPS, then anyone monitoring the connection can use readily available networking sniffing tools to read the contents of a session cookie or see the contents of the Website being transferred. Attackers who can see the session cookie can impersonate those users.

      “HTTPS is one of the best ways to keep your account safe, and it will only get better as we continue to improve HTTPS support on our Web and mobile clients,” the company wrote in a message to its users.

      HTTPS keeps the session cookie encrypted throughout the log-in session, preventing the information from being intercepted.

      Twitter first rolled out the option to users last March, but was roundly criticized by privacy experts for keeping HTTPS turned off by default. Only the most privacy-conscious and “paranoid” people were likely to go into Account Settings and turn it on, according to Christopher Soghoian, a Washington, D.C.-based security and privacy researcher. Companies know users are not likely to turn on settings, especially for things they may not really understand much about, he told attendees at theKaspersky Lab Security Analyst Summit, which took place earlier this month.

      Considering that readily available tools such as Firesheep have made it very easy for anyone to be able to sniff cookies for anyone surfing close by on a public WiFi network, companies need to consider privacy by default, according to privacy advocates such as Soghoian. Firesheep highlighted how much data is being leaked online and how users need to be protected.

      Google was the first company to allow users to turn on HTTPS for its Gmail service, and offered users the option to do search from a secure page. It wasn’t until 2010 when malicious outsiders managed to intercept Gmail log-in information that the company turned on HTTPS by default for its mail service. When it launched its social networking platform Google+, HTTPS was turned on from the start.

      Around the time Twitter initially added HTTPS, Facebook added the option to its social networking site. Like all the other companies, Facebook also chose to bury the setting deep in its security pages and turned it off by default. It is still disabled by default for most users, and even when the user manually turns on HTTPS, Facebook says it will be used “when possible.” For example, even if a user has turned on HTTPS, Facebook will switch to the unencrypted connection when running many of the apps.

      “We look forward to the time when Facebook feels it’s ready to enable HTTPS/SSL by default, and use it throughout users’ time on the site,” Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, wrote on the Naked Security blog.

      Fahmida Y. Rashid
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×