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Site Note: That 'Not Secure' Warning
12 May 2021
For some time now, Google has been reporting any site that uses "http" instead of "https" as insecure. Many of us who run secure sites that do not (because they can not) use an SSL certificate and yet also do not "host confidential information or perform material transactions" have complained that this is at best misleading. And frankly, false.
We've never made much of that here. We thought either or both Google and our hosting provider Sonic would remedy the situation shortly. They haven't. But, as time has gone by, we didn't think there was any point in addressing the ridiculous situation.
But then we got this charming LinkedIn message from Danny this morning:
Love your photos and commentary. I got the warning that your site is not secure. Annoying, but these days you have to be careful. We unplug our Internet every night and disconnect unless we are actually using it, briefly. Brilliant work you have there! :>)
The warning, of course, is incorrect. It refers solely to the fact that we do not have an SSL certificate. And we do not because our hosting provider does not offer that service.
The warning, of course, is incorrect.
When our hosting provider supports SSL certificates, we'll deploy one even though it would have zero impact on what happens when you visit Photo Corners. For some time now, Sonic has demurred, saying it is too expensive to support them.
So why, you ask, doesn't Photo Corners need one to be secure?
Because we aren't harvesting any personal information from you. None at all.
You don't have to log in to our site and we don't handle credit card transactions or provide any data transfers other than our static pages, so you are not exposed in any way at Photo Corners. You aren't sending us any personal information and we aren't harvesting any. So you're perfectly safe.
You can read our tracking policy, which has been posted on the site for years. Even though some browsers like Apple's Safari no longer honor your tracking request (because sites routinely ignore your wishes), we report what your browser is doing on our home page.
In almost nine years of operation, we've never compromised a reader or been compromised as a site. Photo Corners is secure.