The EFF has a plugin that uses SSL when available on a number of common websites (Google included): https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere https://www.eff.org/htt

The EFF has a plugin that uses SSL when available on a number of common websites (Google included): https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere. AdBlock will get rid of a lot of stuff (you will be depriving some sites of revenue, use the whitelist if you respect the site.) There are a few other privacy-related add-ons that I don't have experience with too.