Lovingly Warns Florists to "Get With Google!" and Protect Customers

On April 27th this year, Google announced its intentions toward online security: "Beginning in October 2017, Chrome will show the 'Not secure' warning in two additional situations: when users enter data on an HTTP page, and on all HTTP pages visited in Incognito mode."

Critically, Google states: "Eventually, we plan to show the 'Not secure' warning for all HTTP pages, even outside Incognito mode."

So how big a problem is this?

"Lovingly's own recent survey," explains Lovingly co-founder and managing partner, Joe Vega, "showed that less than 2 percent of top provider domains across North America are secure. We protect all our partner florists and their customers with HTTPS, so we were surprised."

"Some competitor sites are protected," agrees fellow co-founder and managing partner, Ken Garland, "but the websites they provide for florists aren't. Checkouts may be, but that's no longer enough."

Google's issue with HTTP can be broken down as follows:

HTTP isn't encrypted. This provides an open door for hackers to intercept the connection between the shopper and the online store. Common problems include:

• Fake web services that impersonate genuine services
• Internet routers that can be compromised
• Wi-Fi networks that can be infiltrated

By contrast, HTTPS uses one of two secure protocols to encrypt communications.

"That contrast," continues Joe, "between a visible security sign on a website and a glaring 'not secure' warning will eventually cause HTTP to fail."

"And that's necessary," adds Ken, "because the security issue is real. Google is doing a great job. The public won't ignore the upcoming warnings."

"That's why the online floral industry needs to get with Google and deal with this," agrees Joe. "Our partners are safe. Their customers are safe. We're proud of that. But we shouldn't be in a position to shout about it."

"We prefer to shout about innovation," says Ken. "Security comes as standard."

About Lovingly: Lovingly has over 10 years of experience in the online floral world, introducing many industry firsts. Once known as UFN, Lovingly gains maximum exposure for florist websites through search engine marketing and increased orders through effective online store design. For more information, please visit sell.lovingly.com.

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SOURCE Lovingly

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