Encrypted connections coming soon for all Wikipedia readers

As of right now, the data that moves between Wikipedia.com and most users is unencrypted, which increases the chances that someone else may be eavesdropping on you. That, however, is about to change: On Friday, the Wikimedia Foundation announced that it’s moving its sites toward HTTPS by default, so that all data transferred between you and its servers will be encrypted.

Wikimedia says it has been working on the move toward HTTPS for all users since 2011, but that it stepped up its efforts in 2013 in the wake of government surveillance revelations. It did take the organization some time to complete its HTTPS project, however, is it needed to update its back-end systems to support encrypted connections for everyone.

Encrypted connections aren’t a guarantee against data theft—after all, they won’t necessarily keep a determined cybercriminal from trying to break into a server. But at the very least, they do help ensure that your data will at least get to the site you’re visiting without causal snoops eavesdropping on your browsing.