What is a potential consequence of visiting a website over a non-secure HTTP connection?

What is a potential consequence of visiting a website over a non-secure HTTP connection?

• A. His browser will become slower but data is safe.
• B. The site will always become secure.
• C. His password could be stolen by cybercriminals.
• D. Advertisements will always be blocked.

Answer: (C)

Visiting a site over HTTP means your data travels in plaintext between your device and the server. Because nothing is scrambling that data, sensitive information like passwords can be read or captured by anyone monitoring the connection—such as on a public Wi‑Fi network or along the route to the server. This is why a password could be stolen by cybercriminals when the connection isn’t secured with encryption. In contrast, HTTPS uses encryption to protect data in transit, making it much harder for attackers to decipher what you send. The other ideas don’t fit because simply using HTTP doesn’t inherently slow down the browser in a meaningful way, doesn’t make the site secure by itself, and isn’t about blocking ads.

Visiting a site over HTTP means your data travels in plaintext between your device and the server. Because nothing is scrambling that data, sensitive information like passwords can be read or captured by anyone monitoring the connection—such as on a public Wi‑Fi network or along the route to the server. This is why a password could be stolen by cybercriminals when the connection isn’t secured with encryption.

In contrast, HTTPS uses encryption to protect data in transit, making it much harder for attackers to decipher what you send. The other ideas don’t fit because simply using HTTP doesn’t inherently slow down the browser in a meaningful way, doesn’t make the site secure by itself, and isn’t about blocking ads.