Google developers aim to enhance user security and privacy in the Chrome browser. A forthcoming step in this direction will be changes to security settings. A message on the developers' official blog states that soon web resources will only be able to load page elements via the HTTPS protocol, while loading via HTTP will be automatically blocked.
According to Google, currently up to 90% of the content viewed by Chrome users is loaded via HTTPS. However, in many cases, the pages being viewed load insecure elements via HTTP, including images, audio, video, or 'mixed content'. The company believes such content may pose a threat to users, which is why Chrome will block its loading.
Starting with Chrome 79, the web browser will block all mixed content, but the innovations will be introduced gradually. In December of this year, Chrome 79 will feature a new option allowing the unblocking of 'mixed content' on specific sites. In January 2020, Chrome 80 will automatically convert all mixed audio and video, loading them via HTTPS. If loading these elements via HTTPS fails, they will be blocked. In February 2020, Chrome 81 will be released, capable of automatically converting mixed images and blocking them if a proper load cannot be achieved.
When all changes take effect, users will not have to think about which protocol is being used to load certain elements on the web pages they visit. The gradual introduction of changes will give developers time to make all 'mixed content' loadable via HTTPS.
Source: 3dnews.ru
