We have previously published an article on how to search Google over SSL. The SSL connection encrypts all the data transfer between you and the Google servers. The connection is encrypted with high grade RC4 128-bit encryption. With Google search over SSL, your search terms and your search results pages are protected from being intercepted by a third party like your ISP or any middle network. You can add the Google SSL as a search provider to the Firefox search box so you do not have to type the SSL page address manually every time. Here is how :
- Visit https://addons.mozilla.org/…/243978/ in your Firefox browser.
- Click on the green colored button labeled Add to Firefox.
- You will see a popup message box asking if you want to add Google SSL to the list of search engines. Check the checkbox labeled Start using it right away. If you do not select the checkbox, then the Google SSL will not be made your default search engine in the search box. Then click on the Add button to continue.
- That’s it. Now you can see the Google SSL search engine in your Firefox search box on the top-right.
- You can type in your search box for a search term and press Enter to search over the encrypted SSL Google Search.
Please note that the encrypted Google search is only offered for web page search and not for other services like Google Images search, Google Videos search, Google News etc. If you search these other services, your connection will not be encrypted and a third party can eavesdrop on your search terms. For more information you can visit Google’s help page : http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=173733&hl=en.