Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    7,817.40
    -81.50 (-1.03%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,567.30
    -74.80 (-0.98%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6425
    -0.0001 (-0.01%)
     
  • OIL

    83.20
    +0.47 (+0.57%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,396.80
    -1.20 (-0.05%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    101,105.72
    +5,362.95 (+5.60%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,331.93
    +19.30 (+1.49%)
     
  • AUD/EUR

    0.6023
    -0.0008 (-0.13%)
     
  • AUD/NZD

    1.0892
    +0.0017 (+0.16%)
     
  • NZX 50

    11,796.21
    -39.83 (-0.34%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    17,394.31
    -99.31 (-0.57%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,836.22
    -40.83 (-0.52%)
     
  • Dow Jones

    37,775.38
    +22.07 (+0.06%)
     
  • DAX

    17,726.07
    -111.33 (-0.62%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,224.14
    -161.73 (-0.99%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    37,068.35
    -1,011.35 (-2.66%)
     
Engadget
Why you can trust us

Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.

Firefox 83 will automatically switch you to secure HTTPS sites

It will display a warning if a website doesn't have an HTTPS version the browser can load.

Mozilla

Mozilla has launched a new security feature with Firefox 83 that can make sure you’re always establishing secure connections to every website that you visit. When the new HTTPS-Only Mode is switched on, the browser will automatically connect to the HTTPS version of a page, even if you manually type HTTP in the address bar or click on a legacy HTTP link from search results. Further, Firefox will ask for your permission to load websites that aren’t encrypted via HTTPS in any way.

The browser will Firefox will display an error message that explains the security risks of connecting to a non-HTTPS website before you can click through to load it. In case a page has certain HTTP elements such as images that refuse to load in HTTPS-Only Mode, though, you can temporarily disable the feature by clicking on the lock icon next to the URL in the address bar. To switch the feature on for the first time, you’ll have to go to “Privacy & Security” in Preferences and choose “Enable HTTPS-Only Mode in all windows.”

In addition to the new security feature, Firefox 83 also introduces pinch zooming on Window devices with touchscreens and Mac computers through the touchpad. You can now also fast forward and rewind videos using arrow keys in the browser’s Picture-in-Picture windows. The update comes with improved search features and page load performance, as well. Mozilla says Firefox 83 loads websites up to 15 percent faster and uses up to 8 percent less memory than older versions, thanks to significant updates to its JavaScript engine.