Facebook has announced that starting October 1st, 2011, iFrame pages which are not hosted by HTTPS will no longer be seen by users using the secure server for Facebook. This means that a lot of iFrame pages will simply become unavailable to users unless hosts take steps to make sure their page is HTTPS ready.
What is HTTPS and How Can I Get It?
Basically, HTTPS is a way for the information transferred from the page to the server and then to the viewer to be encrypted. This security is found on a server that is enabled with a secure socket layer protocol; i.e., a defense system. This helps to prevent people from hacking in and stealing information such as your password or financial information. Banks and credit card applications are some of the most common places you will see HTTPS.
Every single web hosting company on the internet today recognizes that business sites and financial sites will need security certificates and so offer them. They can come as a shared secure socket layer certificate with all sites on a shared serving sharing the security or a private one which is only available to sites with a unique web address.
Understanding Facebook and HTTPS
In February, Facebook brought in the “Secure Browsing (HTTPS)” option in response to growing complaints about hackers, scams, and viruses. However, many pages were unable to keep up and so any page tab content that was not hosted securely would give out a warning that the tab is insecure and prompt readers/users to either click on the popup to continue viewing or go back. In order to get rid of this problem, the creators of page tabs could, if they chose, provide a secure page URL to display to those who used HTTPS. The new terms of service for secure page tabs requires hosts to have HTTPS in order to be seen by viewers.
So Do I Want Shared or Private?
Facebook allows for both shared and private SSL for your page tab’s iFramed page that you host. If you need something affordable, you can go for a plan that gives shared SSL and this allows protecting the basic information of your visitors. If you need to sell things or have lots of information, a private SSL is the way to go. It’s more expensive, but at least you get everything geared specifically for your site and everything is secure.
Whichever you choose, Posse Social Media can help you. We here are ready to tackle the changes and give you the ability to adapt to them with no problem. Please contact us with any inquiries and for more information about how we can help you.