HTTPS Everywhere: Fend Off Firesheep With Freebie from EFF and Tor Project
The Web is an insecure place and getting more insecure all the time. The latest threat, the Firesheep
add-in for Firefox, is particularly dangerous because it is exceedingly
simple to use. Someone with absolutely no hacking experience can grab
your private login information to sites such as Facebook and Amazon, and
then log in as you and do anything they want, as if they were you. The
free Firefox add-in HTTPS Everywhere
helps protect against that threat and other privacy invaders by
effectively encrypting information when you visit certain Web sites.
The Firefox add-in HTTPS Everywhere lets you choose at which specific Web sites you want protection.
A collaboration between the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project (which employs a network and free software to help protect people's privacy), HTTPS Everywhere ensures that when you visit certain sites, all of your communications are encrypted and secure.
To use it, all you need to do is install it. Once you do that, HTTPS Everywhere does its work invisibly. Among the sites it works on are Facebook, Twitter, Google Search, Wikipedia, Paypal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and others. It works only when the sites themselves use the HTTPS protocol, and works only on a group of specific sites. So it won't protect you everywhere. And it won't protect you when you use other Internet services, such as an instant messaging client, or use client-based email such as Outlook.
For a more comprehensive security tool, you'll want to use a Virtual Private Network, such as the free Hotspot Shield, or the for-pay AlwaysVPN. But for quick-and-easy free protection at popular Web sites, HTTPS Everywhere is a great choice.
The Firefox add-in HTTPS Everywhere lets you choose at which specific Web sites you want protection.A collaboration between the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project (which employs a network and free software to help protect people's privacy), HTTPS Everywhere ensures that when you visit certain sites, all of your communications are encrypted and secure.
To use it, all you need to do is install it. Once you do that, HTTPS Everywhere does its work invisibly. Among the sites it works on are Facebook, Twitter, Google Search, Wikipedia, Paypal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and others. It works only when the sites themselves use the HTTPS protocol, and works only on a group of specific sites. So it won't protect you everywhere. And it won't protect you when you use other Internet services, such as an instant messaging client, or use client-based email such as Outlook.
For a more comprehensive security tool, you'll want to use a Virtual Private Network, such as the free Hotspot Shield, or the for-pay AlwaysVPN. But for quick-and-easy free protection at popular Web sites, HTTPS Everywhere is a great choice.