HTTP Nowhere for Firefox blocks all but encrypted traffic

August 28, 2013 – 7:53 PM

Protecting your privacy online is a hot topic right now, with PRISM looming over the heads of all Internet users. But even if you take PRISM aside, there is a drive towards privacy on the Internet.

One of the things that users need to be aware of is the difference between http and https requests on the Internet. While browsers provide those information visually, for instance by adding a lock symbol to requests or changing the color of the protocol, it is not standardized and they are easy to ignore, especially with recent changes to how they are displayed in the browser.

Firefox users can improve the visualization by installing extensions such as Safe. That does not take care of situations where unsafe or insecure contents are loaded on secure websites. Mozilla has plans to tackle those situations as well.

Sometimes though you may want even more assurance than that, make sure that your browser is protected when you visit important websites that offer https.
An idea that has been expressed recently is to create an encrypted-only mode in web browsers,much like the private browsing mode works today. But instead of making sure that no session date is recorded by the browser that may reveal the sites you have visited in it, it makes sure that only encrypted connections are allowed in it.

That’s where the Firefox extension HTTP Nowhere comes into play. You can use it to block any insecure traffic in Firefox, so that only https connections are permitted.

Source:
http://www.ghacks.net/2013/08/28/http-nowhere-firefox-blocks-encrypted-traffic/

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