How do I tell if my connection to a website is secure?

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  • Creator: Joni
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The Site Identity Button is a Firefox security feature that gives you more information about the sites you visit. You can quickly find out if the website you are viewing is encrypted, if it is verified, who owns the website, and who verified it. This should help you avoid malicious websites that are trying to obtain your personal information.

The Site Identity Button is in the Location bar to the left of the web address.

Site Identity Block 14 - WinThe image "Site Identity Block - Mac" does not exist.Site Identity Block 14 - Lin

site identitysite identity fx39 Linux en

When viewing a website, the Site Identity Button will be one of five icons - a gray globe, a gray warning triangle, an orange warning triangle, a gray padlock, or a green padlock. Clicking on these icons will display identity and security information about the website.

identity icons toc order

Clicking on the More Information button on the pop-up panel will show more details about the privacy and security settings of that site, such as certificate information, cookies and your saved password history.

Gray globe

A gray globe indicates:

  • The website does not supply identity information.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is not encrypted or only partially encrypted and should not be considered safe against eavesdropping.

YouTube - Gray globe - WinThe image "YouTube - Gray globe - Mac" does not exist.YouTube - Gray globe - Lin

grey globe fx29grey globe fx39 Linux en

Most websites will have the gray globe, because they don't involve passing sensitive information back and forth and do not need to have verified identities or encrypted connections. It applies to websites served over HTTP (not encrypted) or HTTPS (partially encrypted).

Note: If you are sending any sort of sensitive information (bank information, credit card data, Social Security Numbers, etc.) the Site Identity Button should not be a gray globe icon.

Gray warning triangle

A gray warning triangle indicates:

  • The website does not supply identity information.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is only partially encrypted, doesn't prevent eavesdropping and is not fully secure because it contains unencrypted elements (such as images, video or audio). Other people can view or modify these elements, but not the main webpage content (such as text).

grey trianglegrey triangle fx39 Linux en

Orange warning triangle

An orange warning triangle indicates:

  • The website does not supply identity information.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is only partially encrypted and doesn't prevent eavesdropping. The website contains interactive content that isn't encrypted (such as scripts). Other people can view your information or modify the website's behavior.

itunes - Orange warning triangle - Win

orange triangle fx29orange triangle fx39 Linux en

It implies that you've previously allowed the mixed active content served over HTTPS to be loaded, displayed or executed for the website despite the risks.

Reloading the websiteGoing to another website in the current tab and then going back or re-visiting the website in a new tab will block back certain HTTP requests to lower threats, change the icon to its previous state (gray globegray warning triangle for mixed passive content and gray or green padlock otherwise) and display the content mixer shield icon. For information about the mixed content block, see Mixed content blocking in Firefox.

Note: If you are sending any sort of sensitive information (bank information, credit card data, Social Security Numbers, etc.) the Site Identity Button should not be an orange warning triangle icon.

Gray padlock

A gray padlock indicates:

  • The website's address has been verified.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is encrypted to prevent eavesdropping.

Facebook - Gray padlock - WinFacebook - Gray padlock - MacFacebook - Gray padlock - Lin

grey lock fx29grey lock fx39 Linux en

When a domain has been verified, it means that the people who are running the site have bought a certificate proving that the domain is not being spoofed. For example, FacebookWikimedia Foundation has this sort of certificate and an encrypted connection, so the Site Identity Button displays a gray padlock. When you click on the padlock, it tells you that you are actually connected to facebook.comwikipedia.org as certified by VeriSign Inc.GlobalSign nv-sa. It also assures you that the connection is encrypted so no one can eavesdrop on the connection and steal your FacebookWikipedia login information that way.

However, it is not verified who actually owns the domain in question. There is no guarantee that facebook.comwikipedia.org is actually owned by Facebook the companyWikimedia Foundation. The only things that are guaranteed is that the domain is a valid domain, and that the connection to it is encrypted.

Green padlock

A green padlock indicates:

  • The website's address has been verified using an Extended Validation (EV) certificate.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is encrypted to prevent eavesdropping.

PayPal - Green padlock - WinThe image "PayPal - Green padlock - Mac" does not exist.PayPal - Green padlock - Lin

green lock fx29green lock fx39 Linux en

A green padlock plus the name of the company or organization in green means this website is using an Extended Validation (EV) certificate. An EV certificate is a special type of site certificate that requires a significantly more rigorous identity verification process than other types of certificates. While the gray padlock indicates that a site uses a secure connection, the green padlock indicates that the connection is secure and that the owners of the domain are who you would expect them to be.

With the EV certificate, the Site Identity Button assures you that paypal.commozilla.org is owned by Paypal Inc.Mozilla Foundation, for example. Not only does the padlock turn green on the Paypal siteMozilla official website, it also expands and displays the name of the owner in the button itself.

The Site Identity button appears in your address bar to communicate information about sites you visit. You can quickly find out if the website you are viewing is encrypted, if it is verified, who owns the website, and who verified it. This should help you avoid malicious websites that are trying to obtain your personal information.

site identity

The Site Identity button is in the address bar to the left of the web address. When viewing a website, the Site Identity Button will be one of five icons - a gray globe, a green padlock, . Clicking the Site Identity button brings up the Control Center, which allows you to view identity information about the site and change security settings.

http globe desktopgreen lock 42blocked secure 42orange triangle grey lock 42unblocked mixed content 42

Gray globe

A gray globe indicates:

  • The website does not supply identity information.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is not encrypted or only partially encrypted and should not be considered safe against eavesdropping.

globe url bar 42

Most websites will have the gray globe, because they don't involve passing sensitive information back and forth and do not need to have verified identities or encrypted connections. It applies to websites served over HTTP (not encrypted) or HTTPS (partially encrypted).

Note: If you are sending any sort of sensitive information (bank information, credit card data, Social Security Numbers, etc.) the Site Identity Button should not be a gray globe icon.

Green padlock

A green padlock indicates:

  • The website's address has been verified using an Extended Validation (EV) certificate.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is encrypted to prevent eavesdropping.

green lock address bar 42

A green padlock plus the name of the company or organization in green means this website is using an Extended Validation (EV) certificate. An EV certificate is a special type of site certificate that requires a significantly more rigorous identity verification process than other types of certificates. While the gray padlock indicates that a site uses a secure connection, the green padlock indicates that the connection is secure and that the owners of the domain are who you would expect them to be.

With the EV certificate, the Site Identity Button assures you that paypal.com is owned by Paypal Inc., for example. Not only does the padlock turn green on the Paypal site, it also expands and displays the name of the owner in the button itself.

A green padlock with a grey warning triangle blocked secure 42 indicates that the site is secure because Firefox has blocked insecure content. See Mixed content blocking in Firefox for more information.

Grey lock with yellow warning triangle

A grey lock with a yellow warning triangle indicates:

  • The website does not supply identity information.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is only partially encrypted and doesn't prevent eavesdropping.

grey lock yellow tri url bar 42

It implies that you've previously allowed the mixed display content served over HTTPS to be loaded on the website despite the risks.

Reloading the website will block back certain HTTP requests to lower threats and display the mixed content block icon. For information about the mixed content block, see How does content that isn't secure affect my safety?.

Note: If you are sending any sort of sensitive information (bank information, credit card data, Social Security Numbers, etc.) the Site Identity Button should not have an orange warning triangle icon.

Grey lock with red strikethrough

A grey lock with red strikethrough indicates that:

  • The website supplies identity information.
  • The connection between Firefox and the website is only partially encrypted and doesn’t prevent eavesdropping.

lock red strikethrough 42

The page is only partially served over HTTPS and allows sensitive information to be passed back and forth over HTTP. Do not enter personal information on sites that show this icon.

Note: This icon will not appear unless you’ve deactivated mixed content blocking.