News Courtesy of Forbes.com:
Last February Google let it be known that websites that used the HTTP protocol instead of the much more secure HTTPS would be labeled “Not Secure” in the URL bar sometime during July. July is now here and Google launched Chrome 68 with the promised change yesterday. Website owners had five months to get their act together and switch to HTTPS so visitors to their sites would be safe. Most of them did. Some couldn’t be bothered.
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is a protocol that governs communication between browsers and websites. Data is sent in clear text over HTTP which means anyone who intercepts it can read it. Any communication between you and an HTTP website can be stolen. HTTPS is a secure version of HTTP. Communication between the website and the browser is encrypted and can’t be read without the encryption key.
Ryan’s Take 
Simply inexcusable. That about sums up my feelings. I feel like I’ve been shouting from the rooftops that the ‘Not Secure’ apocalypse was upon us. Much like the disheveled man holding a cardboard sign proclaiming the end is near, I too feel like no one took me seriously. I’m a little surprised that Google didn’t push it further with a red stop sign icon in addition to the warning. Maybe that is next year?
The fact is, businesses have had over a year to make the switch from HTTP to HTTPs. I recently went through all of my clients, informed them of what was to come, and installed SSL certificates on those who agreed to pay a small fee. It’s unbelievable that major companies would not recognize the issue this could cause visitors and make the switch.
Forbes did a nice job of putting together this shame list. The sports world: espn.com, nfl.com, and nba.com. Surprisingly, MLB didn’t neglect to change over. News websites: foxnews.com, latimes.com, time.com. Freakin’ TIME.COM! How many daily visitors do these websites get? How much revenue is generated? They couldn’t be bothered to take the time to switch over??
Honestly, I hope Google DOES put more of an emphasis of a warning on HTTP websites. SSL certificates can be installed free thanks to Let’s Encrypt. Don’t blame Google for making a change in their own web browser!
