How to enable HTTPS in Gmail and make it more secure

Till date, I was of the opinion that merely pre-pending https:// to mail.google.com would enable “Secure HTTP” or HTTPS mode in Gmail. For the uninitiated, Https mode also called secure http mode will keep your data encrypted as it travels between your web browser and the website server across the Net. So using https:// was a simple way to enable 128-bit encryption for all your mails in Gmail and thus get another level of security.

But from now, you need not bother typing https:// each time because Google has added an option in Gmail Settings which allows you to enable or disable secure mode.  Here is how you enable secure mode in Gmail :

1. Log in to your Gmail account.
2. Click on “Settings“  on top right corner of your Gmail page. (See picture below)
3. In the “Settings” page, look for “Browser Connection” option. This option resides at the bottom of the “General” tab.
4. Enable HTTPS mode by clicking on “Always use https” radio button.
5. Save your changes.

Click on Settings Link in your Gmail account

Enable - "Always use https" option in the "General" tab.

A few points to note  if you enable “always use https” mode in your Gmail settings.

• Selecting ‘Always use https’ will prevent you from accessing Gmail via ordinary HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).
• Gmail will be a little bit slower.
• Make sure you end each of your Gmail sessions by clicking “Sign Out” at the top of Gmail page. And be sure to close the browser window. This is especially relevant when accessing Gmail using a public computer.

[Source : Wired Magazine, Gmail blog]

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