435961 - KB article: Site Identity Button

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(support.mozilla.org :: Knowledge Base Articles, task)

Description

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Tutorial for the Site Identification Button in Firefox 3.
A good resource <http://www.dria.org/wordpress/archives/2008/05/06/635/>.

Comment 1

[myles7897]

I guess I could take this one.

Comment 2

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Actually, I want this one. :-)

Comment 3

[myles7897]

ok, here you go: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Site+Identification+Button

Comment 4

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

In response to Davids review:
- The capitalization of Button is on purpose. See <http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.dev.apps.firefox/msg/b49181a47b2b33af>.
- "bar" in Location bar was also purposely not capitalized, because the name of the bar, as it appears in the Customize Toolbar window, is "Location".

For "While the blue Site Identity button indicates that a site's domain is not being spoofed but does not have any verified information about who actually owns the domain, the green Site Identity Button indicates that the domain is valid and that the owners of the domain are who you would expect them to be."
How about:
"While the blue Site Identity Button indicates that a site's domain is valid, the green Site Identity Button indicates that the domain is valid '''and''' that the owners of the domain are who you would expect them to be. 

Comment 5

[Majken Connor [:Kensie]]

The domain is always valid or the site won't work. The special color denotes a secure connection.

Also, referring to them as "the green button" and "the blue button" grammatically infers they're different buttons.  "When the Site Identity button is/turns blue..." is more accurate.

(haven't read the article, these comments are based off of the comments above)

We should probably get review from Johnathan or someone similar as well for technical accuracy.

Comment 6

[David Tenser [:djst]]

Jonathan, would you have time for a review of this article to see if it's accurate and helpful? I just reviewed it and changed some wording etc, but it could definitely benefit from some jonath love. Thanks!

Comment 7

[Johnathan Nightingale [:johnath]]

Hey guys,

I've included a couple of review comments below.  Overall, the content looks great, thanks for writing it!

1) "The Site Identity button is a Firefox security feature that tells you how safe a web site is."

We really want to get away from talking about "safety" because that is not something that SSL can tell us.  Do they handle your credit card information well?  Do they sell your email to spammers?  "Safety" in the way most people understand it is way too much for a browser to bite off, I think.  Instead we focus on identity, so I would change this sentence to:

"The Site Identity button is a Firefox security feature that helps you identify the sites you visit online."

or

"The Site Identity button is a Firefox security feature that gives you more information about the sites you visit."

2) "So, gray is fine for the majority of sites. "

Let's hammer the point home that Gray is fine IFF no information is being exchanged:

"For sites that don't require any personal information, a lack of identity information is fine."

3)  If it's not too much of a pain, we might want to choose a different site for the gray-button screencap too.  Facebook really *should* be identifying itself and encrypting on the login page - there is an exchange of sensitive information going on there.  I'd suggest maybe epsn or google news?  Something where you can interact without having to log in.

4) Inconsistent icons: I don't know if you care or not, but the icons on the page are inconsistent, sometimes using XP, sometimes using an older version of the Vista icons.

Once again, looks great, and don't let my nits overwhelm that central message.  :)

Comment 8

[David Tenser [:djst]]

That's really helpful Jonathan; thanks!

Comment 9

[Chris Ilias [:cilias]]

Moved to KB at:
Thu 12 of Jun, 2008 02:08 EST

Any further discussion should take place on the staging copy:
<http://support.mozilla.com/kb/*Site+Identity+Button>