Why You Should Upgrade to Chrome 68 Right Now

The newest version of Google Chrome is here, and it's a big deal for your security. In a blog post, the company announced that its update will come with several new features designed to improve the safety of your browsing. 

Credit: Shutterstock

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Most importantly, Chrome 68 will begin labeling all "HTTP" sites as "not secure." That means any site you navigate to with this prefix will show a "Not Secure" warning, and some may even bar your access.

MORE: Google Reinvents Chrome with Big Update: How to Try It

This is the final step in Google's several-year journey to push sites to adopt the HTTPS prefix. Within the last year, the company has gradually been marking more "HTTP" sites as "not secure." 

Credit: Google

(Image credit: Google)

The browser also includes a new protection to defend users against iframe redirects.

Specifically, it will now be much harder for an HTTPS site to automatically redirect you to an HTTP site, even in a popup tab. Chrome will now ask you if you want to proceed to the new site before sending you there.

While most of today's popular websites have switched over to HTTPS, a few popular ones, including Wiki-hosting service WikiaFedex's website, Daily Mail, and Chinese news site and search engine Soku retain the old prefix (though this can vary by country). These websites will need to migrate their pages to HTTPS or lose a chunk of their traffic. 

Monica Chin is a writer at The Verge, covering computers. Previously, she was a staff writer for Tom's Guide, where she wrote about everything from artificial intelligence to social media and the internet of things to. She had a particular focus on smart home, reviewing multiple devices. In her downtime, you can usually find her at poetry slams, attempting to exercise, or yelling at people on Twitter.