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Firefox uses a padlock icon next to a website's address to let you know your connection is encrypted. Clicking the icon gives you more info about the website.

<!-- The changes to this feature are significant enough that it was easier to re-write the article in a new section for Firefox 14 and above. That section is below the old version which is now for Firefox 13 and below. --> 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. {for not fx29}{for win}[[Image:Site Identity Block 14 - Win]]{/for}{for mac}[[Image:Site Identity Block - Mac]]{/for}{for linux}[[Image:Site Identity Block 14 - Lin]]{/for}{/for}{for fx29}[[Image:site identity]]{/for} When viewing a website, the Site Identity Button will be one of five icons - a gray globe, a gray warning triangel, an orange warning triangle, a gray padlock, or a green padlock. Clicking on these icons will display identity and security information about the website. {for fx23} [[Image:Identity Icons Fx23]] {/for} __TOC__ = 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. {for not fx29} {for win}[[Image:YouTube - Gray globe - Win]]{/for}{for mac}[[Image:YouTube - Gray globe - Mac]]{/for}{for linux}[[Image:YouTube - Gray globe - Lin]]{/for} {/for} {for fx29} [[Image:grey globe fx29]] {/for} 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}'''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.{/note} = Gray warning triangle = A gray warning triangle indicates: *The website does not supply identity information. *The connection to this website website is not fully secure because it contains unecrypted elements (such as images). = 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. {for not fx29} [[Image:itunes - Orange warning triangle - Win]] {/for} It implies that you've previously allowed the mixed active content served over HTTPS to be displayed for the website despite the [[How does content that isn't secure affect my safety?#w_what-are-the-risks|risks]]. Reloading the website will block back certain HTTP requests to lower threats, change the icon to its previous state (gray globe for mixed passive content and gray padlock otherwise) and display the content mixer shield icon. For information about the mixed content block, see [[How does content that isn't secure affect my safety?]]. {note}'''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.{/note} {/for} = 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. {for not fx29} {for win}[[Image:Facebook - Gray padlock - Win]]{/for}{for mac}[[Image:Facebook - Gray padlock - Mac]]{/for}{for linux}[[Image:Facebook - Gray padlock - Lin]]{/for} {/for} {for fx29} [[Image:grey lock fx29]] {/for} When a domain has been verified, it means that the people who are running the site have bought a certificate proving that they own the domain and it is not being spoofed. For example, Facebook 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<!-- -->.com as certified by VeriSign Inc. It also assures you that the connection is encrypted so no one can eavesdrop on the connection and steal your Facebook login information that way. However, it is not verified who actually owns the domain in question. There is no guarantee that facebook<!-- -->.com is actually owned by Facebook the company. 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. {for not fx29} {for win}[[Image:PayPal - Green padlock - Win]]{/for}{for mac}[[Image:PayPal - Green padlock - Mac]]{/for}{for linux}[[Image:PayPal - Green padlock - Lin]]{/for} {/for} {for fx29} [[Image:green lock fx29]] {/for} A green padlock plus the name of the company or organization in green means that website is using an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Validation_Certificate 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. {/for} <br/> <br/> '''''Based on information from [http://www.dria.org/wordpress/archives/2008/05/06/635/ dria.org&nbsp;» Blog Archive&nbsp;» Firefox 3: Site Identification button]'''''