4 ms·

What if there was a country flag or something, indicating where the CA was located -- in which country / jurisdiction? Then, let's say it's in China or Turkey

What if there was a country flag or something, indicating where the CA was located -- in which country / jurisdiction? Then, let's say it's in China or Turkey or Kazakhstan, etc etc, then I would know that the politicians/police there might have decided to man-in-the-middle listen to anything I type into that website. And what if there was a Freedom of Press index number (or sth like that) next to this flag? (because who can remember all flags)

gsich 7y ago
Don't expect too much. Browsers can't even display punycode to avoid being scammed.
tialaramex 7y ago
You absolutely can build a plugin for Firefox (and Chrome? Maybe? Sounds like some APIs needed are not finished) to add this UI feature for people who want it. Experience shows that if everybody wants a UI feature from a plug-in it won't take long until the people you were plugging into implement it natively and you can choose to take that as praise or shake your fist at them for "stealing". I recommend the former. But I doubt your new "Freedom of the Press of the CA issuer of this site" UI will be very popular because it's not at all obvious what anybody can do with that information or how to even interpret it.
- gpm 7y ago
  Well, for one thing, if the lock on google.com starts showing a chinese flag I think everyone who notices would know to be suspicious.
  - spc476 7y ago
    I think that would be a wonderful idea. Show the flag (along with the lock icon) of the country of the CA. That would at least give a bit more transparency to the user of the certificate other than checking the details manually.
Normal_gaussian 7y ago
A plugin is your best bet. The flag is one thing, but the nature of the index concept ensures it will be suitable for only specific audiences. That is the validity never mind the importance of such metrics is a position of opinion.
drdaeman 7y ago
Browser vendors are moving in the exactly opposite direction, removing visibility into any technical information beyond the green padlock icon. Today, it takes a few more clicks to see the detailed certificate information (let alone the CA name), than it used to be.

gsich 7y ago

Don't expect too much. Browsers can't even display punycode to avoid being scammed.

tialaramex 7y ago

You absolutely can build a plugin for Firefox (and Chrome? Maybe? Sounds like some APIs needed are not finished) to add this UI feature for people who want it. Experience shows that if everybody wants a UI feature from a plug-in it won't take long until the people you were plugging into implement it natively and you can choose to take that as praise or shake your fist at them for "stealing". I recommend the former. But I doubt your new "Freedom of the Press of the CA issuer of this site" UI will be very popular because it's not at all obvious what anybody can do with that information or how to even interpret it.

gpm 7y ago
Well, for one thing, if the lock on google.com starts showing a chinese flag I think everyone who notices would know to be suspicious.
- spc476 7y ago
  I think that would be a wonderful idea. Show the flag (along with the lock icon) of the country of the CA. That would at least give a bit more transparency to the user of the certificate other than checking the details manually.

Normal_gaussian 7y ago

A plugin is your best bet. The flag is one thing, but the nature of the index concept ensures it will be suitable for only specific audiences. That is the validity never mind the importance of such metrics is a position of opinion.

drdaeman 7y ago

Browser vendors are moving in the exactly opposite direction, removing visibility into any technical information beyond the green padlock icon. Today, it takes a few more clicks to see the detailed certificate information (let alone the CA name), than it used to be.