Now Google search engine service is available over SSL (secure socket layer). With Google search over SSL, you can have an end-to-end encrypted search solution between your computer and Google. This secured channel helps protect your search terms and your search results pages from being intercepted by a third party like your ISP or any middle network that connects you to Google servers.
To use the Google search over SSL, just visit https://www.google.com/. Note the extra s in https://. This extra s indicates secure connection using either TLS (transport layer security) or SSL. Google search uses SSL 3.0.
When you visit the Google seacrh over SSL page, you will find a special Google logo. The little lock on the top-right in the Google logo indicates that the connection for Google search is encrypted. You ca also check that the page is encrypted by looking at a tiny lock icon in your browser’s status bar or the location bar. Most of the modern browsers would also change the color of the location bar (also called address bar) to reflect that you are connected to a secure website which uses secure connection.
For now, only Google search offers secure search over SSL. Other services like Google Images search, Google Videos search, Google News etc. are not encrypted. For more information you can visit Google’s help page : http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=173733&hl=en.