Google will beef up security in the next release of its Chrome browser (version 25) by encrypting all search queries sent from the software. Currently, only queries sent by searchers logged into a Google account are encrypted by Chrome.
Starting with the next version of Chrome, now in the development and beta channel, searches by anyone will be encrypted using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Google Software Engineer Adam Langley explained in The Chromium Blog.
When a browser is using SSL to encrypt information from a browser to a website, a green padlock appears beside the Web address in the address box. Google calls that box the “omnibox” because it does double duty as both a place to insert URLs and type in search terms.
“Serving content over SSL provides users with a more secure and private search experience,” Langley said in his blog. “It helps ensure that malicious actors who might intercept people’s Internet traffic can’t see their queries.”
