Facebook users going to secure connections

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Facebook says it is moving all users to secure HTTPS browser connections to help block attacks over WiFi networks.

HTTPS, a secure version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with which browsers connect with websites, encrypts data as it is transferred, making it harder to see for potential attackers on the same wireless network.

First adopted by financial institutions and on-line shopping sites, HTTPS is becoming widespread among Web services, PC World reported.

Facebook offered HTTPS as an option last year, but at the time the security protocol was unsupported in many third-party apps.

All apps have since been required to support the protocol Facebook is now rolling out the added security measure to all users.

HTTPS does add a small increment to Web page loading time in a trade-off of speed for security, so Facebook say users will have the ability to opt-out of it in their account settings if they wish.