This post is not very related to Facebook, but I believe it is worth sharing. In our last post, we share about the dangers of Firesheep, a Firefox extension, and as I shared, a lot of people have already downloaded it and are trying it out to check whether it is true, with an intention to hack, or just for fun.
If SSL encryption is used in all communication, the problem will be solved, but this is something that should be supported in the server side and that is not happening very fast. But, you can take the initiation and use extension that will force to use secure connection to the sites you always use like Facebook, Twitter, and Google etc and counter extensions like the Firesheep.
HTTPS Everywhere is one such extension that will force secure connection. You can get it here. Install it and restart Firefox and you are done.
The extension will force the use of https for connecting to popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, NY Times, Washington Post, WordPress, Google, and many others. You can also add more sites by writing your own redirection rules, which is easy to write.
Another Firefox extension called Force-TLS also force sites to use secure connections and make it impossible for Firesheep extension to get hold of your cookies. You can get the extension here.
Here is how to use it.
1. Install the plugin/extension.
2. Go to “Tools” on your Firefox browser and click on “ForceTLS Configuration.”
3. Enter the address of the websites that you want the extension to force secure connection.
Both the extensions work well except for Amazon (only partial). HTTPS Everywhere upon installation protects your information while visiting most of the popular sites while Force-TLS relies on the sites you define. But, it is easier to define new sites for secure connection through Force-TLS.
Note: The extensions given above are only for Firefox browser only.
To know whether a secure connection is being done or not just look at the address bar of your browser. For example: Connecting to Facebook without SSL encryption will appear like this the image below,
while connecting to Facebook after forcing encryption will appear like the one below.
Note the extra ‘s’ after http at the beginning of the address. Hope this little post helps.
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