There are many reasons why using HTTPS is preferred, but it’s primarily for data security. HTTPS is a secured extension of HTTP; watch the video by John Mueller to learn more about how it works:
If you’re still lost on how to change your HTTP website to Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure and get the most of it, you can read some useful tips in this guide.
Ultimately, you’d want to use a secure protocol in all linkings to avoid further confusion and errors when they redirect. Sometimes, even if you use and load secured links, some of the resources in those webpages are loaded over an insecure HTTP connection that will cause problems if left unattended.
What Does “HTTPS Links to HTTP JavaScript” Mean?
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure linking to an HTTP JS means that the initial HTML or URL is loaded over a secure connection. Simply put, URLs using the secure (HTTPS) protocol will link to JavaScript over an insecure HTTP connection. However, some of the resources are loaded on a different connection, in HTTP instead of HTTPS. This is called mixed content and goes with the initial request over Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, where both contents are loaded to display the same page.
What Triggers This Issue?
This issue is an instance of mixed content that occurs when HTML pages load over a secure HTTPS connection but link to resources (images, CSS, or JS) over an insecure HTTP connection. Mixed content degrades the security and user experience of your Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure site.
The main cause is using resources on the webpage without supporting and encrypting them over a secure connection.
How To Check the Issue
Check by either crawling the website or setting up a tool that automatically detects the issue. Crawling a website is especially useful if your content is primarily managed in a CMS:
- Install Composer since the mixed-content-scan command line requires PHP.
- Use the command line with your domain. For example, mixed-content-scan https://mysite.com
- Scan and wait for the list of results. Look for any “Warning” messages; mixed content will be listed in that category upon discovery.
If you want the issue to be automatically detected, you can use the Content Security Policy header. It will instruct your browser to notify a given URL with information about any observed mixed content warnings.
Within our Site Audit section under ‘Security,’ you’ll find a critical analysis pinpointing where your site’s security could be compromised by linking HTTPS pages to HTTP JavaScript files. This is highlighted under ‘HTTPS page links to HTTP JavaScript’.
By selecting the ‘View issue’ option, Sitechecker provides a detailed list of the specific pages where this security concern is present. This information is crucial as it can prevent secure content from being undermined by insecure links, which could be exploited by attackers and harm your users’ trust.
For each identified URL, additional information is provided, including the page weight, the HTTP status code, and the date the issue was detected. This enables you to prioritize which issues to address first based on their potential impact.
Check Your HTTPS for HTTP JavaScript Links!
Scan your HTTPS pages for HTTP JavaScript links now and fortify your site’s security with Sitechecker.
Why is This Important?
This is because some browsers block insecure resource requests by default. If your page depends on these insecure resources, your page might not work properly when they get blocked. Consequently, requesting subresources over HTTP weakens your site’s security since it’s vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. This is when the attackers eavesdrop over a network connection and make unnecessary modifications to the communication.
How to Fix the Issue
You need to focus on your site and resources to resolve the issue. For your own domain, serve all content as HTTPS and fix your links. Often, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure version of the content already exists, and it just requires adding an “s” to links — http:// to https://.
For JS files hosted on other domains, use the site’s Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure version if available. If HTTPS is not available, you can try contacting the domain and asking them if they can make the content available via Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure.
