Make your connection to Gmail a little more secure

For those of you who use Gmail, check off this little box "Always use https" in your email settings (click on "Settings" and go to the bottom of the "General" tab) to make your connection to Gmail a little more secure:



About a year ago (see this Gmail blog entry,) Google made this feature available - it is NOT on by default, and so YOU have to turn it on. (I'm surprised they don't have it on for everyone by default! They really should!)

What does this help protect against? Well, say you are at Starbucks using their free Wi-Fi (or just using any nonsecure network) - someone could easily "listen in" on your connection to Gmail and see the emails sent between Gmail's servers and your computer. This feature helps to protect against that.

Instead of seeing your message "Hi Joe, my account number is 23443212334. Can you transfer me the $20 you owe me?" someone attempting to view your mail will see junk like this: "k1q4w!mjherptjh7eff3kjahdnfxwweitunyxqwkhr8ej k5n3j875nsozj1j&h.3mi"

Note that this ONLY helps protect the connection you have between your computer and Gmail's computer. (Your message itself is NOT encrypted for the recipient.) It protects against those people at coffee shops and other nonsecure networks listening in on your connection with gmail.
It has NO effect at all upon the rest of the path your email must travel to get to your recipient. (Your email administrator could still read your mail. If your email is stored on an insecure server along the way, it could be read. Mr. Stranger could listen in when your friend retrieves the message you sent him on if he's using an insecure connection, etc.)

More on using "free public internet" later.