I recently noticed a gray globe beside most of the web addresses that I never noticed before (including bank websites). Does this mean I may have a virus?
I read somewhere that there should be no gray logo at all for sites that require personal info. Bank sites now have the gray globe, but this is not the case on other computers. Is this cause for concern?
All Replies (10)
No.
That is the consequence of removing the website favicon from the location bar and only display it on the tab bar.
- https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Site+Identity+Button
- http://blog.mozilla.org/ux/2012/06/site-identity-ui-updates/
You no longer see the website's favicon on the location bar, but you now see an icon that indicates what kind of connection you have.
If you click the icon then with a normal unencrypted HTTP connection you see:
- This website does not supply identity information.
- Your connection to this website is not encrypted.
Only an encrypted HTTPS connection can provide additional information.
The change is for security reasons to prevent websites from spoofing the favicon as a padlock icon or other indication of a secure site.
I understand that, but I am wondering why on some computers the green padlock shows up for some websites (such as my bank), but on my computer it is the globe? As I mentioned before, I read that for secure sites (banks), there should be no gray icon whatsoever.
Thanks for your answer by the way.
It's possible not all your computers are upgraded to Firefox 14 yet?
That's not it, I checked that already, even re-downloaded it. Thanks for trying though.
Do you see the HTTPS protocol with that gray globe or a normal HTTP connection (likely hidden)?
You can set the browser.urlbar.formatting.enabled pref to false on the about:config page to disable the highlighting of the domain and see the full URL more clearly.
You can set the browser.urlbar.trimURLs pref to false on the about:config page to see the http: protocol.
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I'm assuming its a normal http connection because i just see mybank.com What is the difference?
SUMO sites use an encrypted HTTPS connection for enhanced security, so you can see the difference here and click the slot icon and the More Information button to verify the connection.
A bank site should allow to force a secure connection by specifying the https:// protocol in front of the link.
Thanks for your help I think I've figured it out.
You're welcome